


I'm Staring at an Empty Page (Trying to Write the Things I Didn't Say to You)

by ElleCross



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Growing Apart, Growing Up Together, Kid Fic, M/M, Trilingual Derek, but like kids Derek and Will sorry, will add more tags as i add more chapters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-09
Updated: 2018-10-03
Packaged: 2019-04-20 23:32:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 21,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14271951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElleCross/pseuds/ElleCross
Summary: He feels his palms start sweating and he has to tell himself to keep breathing. He turns slowly from where he had been looking at Lardo and comes face to face with the boy he hasn’t seen since he was fifteen.





	1. Chapter One - Then

**Author's Note:**

> All mistakes and errors are my own because I have beta'd this by myself. Again, I don't own any of these characters they all belong to the wonderful Ngozi!
> 
> Oh! Shoutout to Candy for dealing with my spam messages and being my cheerleader, I love you!

Derek was five years old when he realised he was different. Not that being different was a bad thing, but when all you want to do is fit in being different doesn’t help.

It was his first day of kindergarten, his mama had just dropped him off and he promised her he would be a good boy and not cry. His lip quivered as his teacher let him to a small table in the corner with four child-sized chairs. He still didn’t fully understand why he had to go to school. His mama had tried to explain to him that he was now a big boy, and big boys got to go to kindergarten.

Derek would have much rather stayed home reading with mama and colouring pictures for mom to put on her desk at work. Even though mama had assured him he would like kindergarten and that he would make new friends he wasn’t so sure.

“Do you need help taking off your backpack?” His teacher asked.

Derek looked up at her, she had a pretty smile and seemed nice enough but Derek still didn’t do well with strangers. He shook his head and fiddled with one of his straps.

His teacher knelt down so she was eye level with him and offered him a soft smile.

“Hey Derek, I know that your first day at school is always going to be different and scary but it’ll get easier. Why don’t you hang up your back pack and start colouring this piece of paper,” She reached to grab some green construction paper from the centre of the table and bring it closer to him. “This is going to be your desk nametag so make it as colourful and fun as you want okay?”

Derek nodded once. “Okay.”

“If you need anything else just let me know. Now I’m going to check on some of the other kids coming in, okay?”

Derek nodded again and started taking off his backpack; he carefully looked around at where the other kids are busy colouring away. He sits down and stares at the bright green paper. He wonders if he’s supposed to write his name down on it or not.

Mama taught him how to write his name and age a few months ago and was very proud of him when he managed to get the ‘k’ just right. He reached over to grab a blue marker and decided he was going to draw Blue from Blue’s Clues because she’s his favourite. He drew Blue on one side, thinking about how he needed to save enough room for his name.

Derek’s mouth was scrunched and his tongue was peaking out the right side, as it always did when he was concentrating. He was so busy making sure Blue’s ear was filled in just right he didn’t even notice someone was sitting beside him until they coughed slightly.

Derek looked up to see a boy with bright red hair and hazel eyes staring at him curiously.

“Hi,” Derek said quietly.

“Hi.” The boy held out a tiny hand. “I’m William Poindexter.”

Derek noticed he had a bit of a lisp. Derek reached out and took William’s hand and shook it twice, he had never shaken someone’s hand before but he’d seen his mama and mom due it lots of times so he was sure he did it right.

“I’m Derek Nurse.”

William smiled and nodded. “Mommy said that the best way to make friends is to introduce yourself, so you’re my friend now.”

Derek stared at William before nodding slowly. “Okay.”

“Good. What are you colouring?” William leaned over to get a better look at Derek’s drawing.

“It’s Blue.” Derek pulled his drawing closer to him.

“From Blue’s Clues?” William asked, tilting his head.

Derek nodded. William smiled and pulled his chair closer to Derek’s.

“Can you draw Magenta on mine? I’m no good at drawing.”

Derek looked over at William, he seemed a bit shy but hopeful. Derek looked down at his drawing. Blue wasn’t exactly how he would like her to be, her left ear was kind of wonky and he didn’t manage to fully colour in all the lines he had drawn.

“Please?” William asked when Derek hadn’t responded.

He thought back to what Mama had said about how he would make friends, and how instantly William declared him a friend. He didn’t want to lose his new friend.

“Okay.”

“Yay!” William beamed and quickly shuffled to grab a piece of purple construction paper and a pink marker. “You’re the bestest!”

Derek gave him a small smile and carefully took the items William shoved at him. “I’m still practicing.”

William nodded. “That’s okay. Mommy says that practice makes perfect.”

Derek shifted and started drawing, William looking over his shoulder but not being bothersome otherwise. For the first time that day when he thought about his mama he didn’t feel his lip start to wobble, instead he felt excited to tell her that he made a new friend.

 •••••••••

William was four (almost five!) years old when he realised he was different. His sister Janie always said being different was good, but some days William felt like it was the worst thing in the world.

Janie had told him that kindergarten would be fun; she said it was a lot more fun than the fourth grade because in the fourth grade you had _homework_. William didn’t know what homework was but it didn’t sound nice.

Mommy had said he would make friends and that he should introduce himself when he wanted to make a new friend. He was still nervous though he hadn’t made a new friend before. He had been excited to get all of his school supplies, his mom had printed out the list and they had gone out to get everything the week before. He had his Superman backpack and the determination to make at least one friend today.

With another big hug and kiss goodbye to Mommy, his teacher, Ms Lindsay, had led him to a table in the far corner where another boy was sitting. Ms Lindsay mentioned that he could start colouring on a piece of paper and later they would write their names on it and use it for their desks.

William nodded and looked over all the different colours of paper. Ms Lindsay left him to go check on a few kids on the other side that had started crying. William slipped off his new Superman backpack and hung it on the back of the chair like the boy beside him had done. William stared at the boy, who was colouring so intensely he probably didn’t realise his tongue is poking out of his mouth.

William waited until it looked like the boy was finished before he coughed quietly. Green eyes met his almost instantly, a stray brown curl fell on his forehead but the boy doesn’t seem to notice.

“Hi.” The boy’s voice was quiet, something William wasn’t used to. Every kid he met was always loud.

“Hi,” William smiled and then remembered what his mom said about introducing himself. He stuck out his hand. “I’m William Poindexter.”

William was still a bit self-conscious of his pronouncing his last name because he still had trouble making ‘x’ and ‘t’ sounds because they always came out sounding like and ‘s’. Janie had called it a lisp but Mommy had told him he was just special.

The boy looked down at his hand and then up at him before he slowly reached out to take William’s hand. He shook it twice and then let go.

“I’m Derek Nurse.”

William beamed and started nodding, explaining how Mommy reminded him about the best way to make new friends, “so you’re my friend now!”

Derek looked a little stunned and it seemed to take a few moments before he nodded. “Okay.”

William took their confirmation of friendship as the okay to get further into Derek’s space by leaning over to look at his drawing. “Good. What are you colouring?”

William watched as Derek pulled his paper closer to him, a small frown marring his face. “It’s Blue.”

“From Blue’s Clues?” William perked up, tilting his head as he looked between the paper and Derek.

Derek nodded. William smiled widely and reached for his chair, pulling it closer to Derek’s and sitting down.

“Can you draw Magenta?” He asked hopefully, he still had trouble with colouring when there wasn’t already a picture there. From the glimpse at Derek’s picture William knew he could do it. When Derek didn’t reply right away William started fidgeting before finally asking, “please?”

Derek took another moment but then nodded. “Okay.”

William cheered, his eyes squished from how wide he was smiling. He quickly shuffled to reach for a piece of the purple construction paper and then a pink marker and shoved both of them at Derek. “You’re the bestest!”

Derek smiled for the first time and carefully reached out to take the paper and marker from William.

“I’m still practicing.”

“That’s okay. Mommy says that practice makes perfect.” William assured not wanting Derek to feel bad.

He kept a careful distance so he didn’t bump Derek while he drew because he always hated it when someone caused him to mess up his colouring. He smiled whenever Derek looked over at him and started humming the Spiderman theme song.

William was really proud of himself for being able to make a friend so easily, sure Derek was a bit quiet but William didn’t mind. He wondered is Derek liked comic books or if he liked cartoons. He watched Derek draw careful lines and decided that it didn’t matter; Derek could hate everything William liked, William would still want to be his friend.


	2. Chapter Two - Now

Derek drops his bag down onto the twin bed; it’s one of the most obvious changes from his room back in Manhattan where he sleeps comfortably in a Queen.

“Well this is very quaint.” Mama says as she takes in the cramped room.

There are two beds on opposite walls separated by two small nightstands. At the end of each bed is a desk and chair, Derek doesn’t like to think about how fortunate he’s been but this dorm is a big reality check for him.

“Where are you supposed to put all your clothes?” Mom asks as she sweeps into the room with another one of his suitcases.

Derek shrugs as he drops down onto his bed, it squeaks a bit and doesn’t seem comfortable at first feel but he’s sure he’ll get used to it eventually. Mom simply raises an eyebrow at him and crosses her arms.

Mama looks between the two of them fondly before pointing to a hanging curtain that Derek hadn’t paid any attention to when he walked in. “I believe that is your closet and that is your dresser.” She points to the place beside the desk.

Mom eyes the two places and then looks at the two suitcases, large duffle, and hockey bag Derek had brought. Derek wonders if he’s going to get a lecture about having brought too much even though she had insisted he needed everything.

“Marie, darling, why don’t you help Derek unpack his clothes and I’ll go down and get the last few things from the car.” Mom doesn’t really wait for a response, just drops a kiss to Mama’s cheek and sweeps out of the room.

Mama and Derek share a look before Derek gets up and heads over to his bags.

“Your Mom sure has a knack for getting out of all the difficult work.” Mama picks up the heaviest suitcase easily and deposits it on his bed.

Derek snorts as he picks up the duffle and shuffles over to the desk. “You say that like you don’t know you would’ve come up to us screaming at each other if you had been the one to go downstairs.”

Derek hears Mama laugh behind him but she doesn’t disagree. He starts unpacking his duffle; it mainly holds all his school stuff plus a few posters. He unpacks his laptop and carefully sets it away from the edge of the desk. He grabs his old sketchbooks and notebooks and sets them up on the small shelf above the desk.

“You brought those with you?” Mama glances over his shoulder as she carries some shorts to the dresser.

Derek shrugs as he pulls out his set of new notebooks and places them on the opposite end of the shelf. “I figured they might be useful for inspiration.”

Mama ruffles his hair as she passes him again. “Oh mi amor.”

Her voice is soft and fond; Derek doesn’t look over at her because he knows she’ll be a little teary eyed.

“Mama, stop.”

“Yes Marie, we don’t want to embarrass him.” Mom sweeps back into the room arms full of shopping bags from their trek to Home Sense where they picked up everything Mom thought they would need.

Derek rolls his eyes. “You guys don’t embarrass me.”

Mom stares blankly at him while Mama laughs and reaches out to cup his cheek. He’s taller than her, he’s been taller than her since he was fifteen, so she has to reach up more than she used to.

“We know we embarrass you mi vida, it’s okay to admit that.”

Derek huffs slightly.

“Okay you two, I need your help with figuring out where we’re going to put everything.” Mom says as she drops the bag onto the bed beside his open suitcase.

“Karina, we haven’t even finished unpacking his clothes yet.” Mama sighs heavily.

“Well there are things in here to help with that!” Mom argues.

Derek rolls his eyes as the two of them start talking in hushed, frustrated tones. Derek turns back to his desk and rearranges the last few things that he wants readily available for the next few days. He knows he’ll have to do some rearranging once he goes down to the bookstore to get his textbooks and all other supplies he needs.

“Fine.” Mama huffs.

Derek looks over his shoulder to see Mom smiling and Mama looking lovingly exasperated. Mama makes eye contact with him and rolls her eyes.

“So I’m going to hang up all your clothes that need to be hung up. You’re going to put away the rest of your clothes in the dresser while Mom unpacks everything she bought and starts decorating. After that we’ll go for lunch and then figure out what we’ll be doing the rest of the weekend.”

Derek nods.

“Okay, go team!” Mom cheers and doesn’t waste time moving to start unpacking the shopping bags.

Mama heads back to his suitcases, lightly hip checking Mom out of the way. The two exchange a few light jokes and Derek watches them fondly. For the next four years moments like this will be relegated to holiday breaks and summer, if that. Derek knows he’s been lucky; he has two moms that love him and want the best for him.

He’ll miss moments like this while at Samwell, so he tucks every detail of this moment away knowing the exactly what drawing that will christen his new sketchbook.

 •••••••••

 Will lays back, feeling drained from going up and down stairs so many times today. He had finished unpacking everything twenty minutes ago; it was a bit harder since he had to everything by himself. Mom was supposed to drive him down from Oldtown and help him unpack and take him shopping for things for his dorm that he couldn’t fit in his suitcase.

At the last minute Mom had gotten called in to work for an emergency. Dad couldn’t drive him either because he was working too. Luckily for him though Janie was going to Boston for a few weeks for work.

Though that meant he had to get up at the crack of dawn, say too many rushed goodbyes and figure out where the hell he was going to get what he needed. He had packed Janie’s old sedan packed full with two suitcases, his hockey bag, and box of home ware Mom and Dad insisted he take with him.

He kept his backpack up front with him because it had all his breakable stuff. He had printed out all the information he needed about his dorm and the campus, plus a list of shops around it that Will would most likely be using. As he was saying his final goodbyes to Mom and Dad when Dad pressed an envelope into his hands.

“We’re proud of you son.” Dad had quietly said.

Will nodded; feeling choked up. This was going to be a big change, a positive change but big nonetheless. He was scared to say goodbye to his family knowing that he wouldn’t see most of them for a couple of months.

“Come on little bro, let’s get going and try to beat the morning rush.” Janie hooked her arm through his.

She squeezed his forearm once and leaned up to whisper, “It’s okay if you want to cry, I won’t judge you.”

Will looked down at her and gave her a smile he knew was watery. “Thank sis.”

“Bye Will!” Mason yelled from the front porch.

Will turned to see him and Molly waving wildly, while Mom and Dad hugging behind them. He waved back and got into the car. Janie didn’t say anything as they drove away; she had plugged in her iPod and selected a mellow playlist. Will appreciated that, he wasn’t in the mood for anything overly upbeat but he also didn’t want anything too sad. Will put his backpack on the space in front of him. He still held the envelope Dad had given him, afraid that it might have gotten crushed if he put it in his bag.

“We’re going through Providence, we can stop to grab some breakfast and then we’ll head to Wal-Mart and pick up what you need, Mom gave me a list.” Janie finally spoke up as they merged onto the interstate.

“Isn’t that longer for you?” Will asked as he turned the envelope over in his hands, unsure of if he needed to wait until he got to Samwell or not to open it.

“Yeah it is, but it’s worth it. If I’m going to be dropping you off I’m going to make sure you have everything you need before I leave.” Janie reached over to pat his shoulder.

Will is thankful for Janie as he shifts to curl up on his new comforter. He doesn’t know how he would have managed to everything since there’s no Wal-Mart in Samwell and he would have had to take 30 min bus ride into Boston. He’s also thankful that Janie had already gone to University and lived on campus because she knew exactly what he would need for his dorm. She had taken one look at the list he had been provided with and immediately ignored everything on it.

“Yeah, half of this stuff you won’t need or use, Mom and I learned that the hard way my first year at NYU.” Janie folded up the list and stuck it in her purse.

She had grabbed a cart and didn’t even bother to see if Will was behind him. Will had to jog to catch up to her. Janie ended up grabbing things Will would have never even thought of. Such as a portable hand steamer for his dress shirts, a drying rack he can use for his hockey gear and also his clothes that can’t go in the dryer. They had so much stuff that Will had to go get another cart.

When they reached the till Will had had a slight mental freak out of how they were going to be able to afford it all. His parents had given him a bit of money for any forgotten essentials he could pick up at the Stop n Shops. Janie had sense his nervousness and smiled at him while she started unpacking the carts.

“Get out your student card and then open the envelope Dad gave you.”

Will had nodded and done just that, his hands started to shake when he pulled out the bright blue card, there were a few other things in there but he knew Janie meant for him to grab the blue card. He flipped it over to see that $250 was written on it.

“What?” Will whispered looking up at Janie who had paused unpacking the cart.

“The whole family chipped in, even Mason and Mia.”

Will felt himself get choked up. “But guys, you didn’t-“

Janie hushed him. “Of course we did baby bro. You’ve helped out with everything since you were 12, this is just a small thing we can do to say thanks.”

Janie’s voice cracked as she moved to engulf him in a hug. Will laughed wetly and returned the hug; they pulled away a few moments later. Janie wiped at her eyes.

“I think that’s a new one for me, crying in the Wal-Mart check out line.”

Will sniffed. “Yeah, definitely up their on weirdest places we’ve cried.”

Janie laughed and hip checked him lightly. “Alright, get back to work, I’m not unpacking these carts by myself.”

Will still feels a bit choked up when he thinks about what his family did for him and he knows he should call Mom and Dad to thank them but he’ll do that later. He needs to find the strength to get up and finish unpacking but right now all he wants to do is sleep. Unfortunately Janie had had to leave pretty soon after she dropped him off so she wasn’t able to do much other than help him lug the stuff they bought up to his dorm.

He doubts his roommate will be moving in any time soon since he’s here a week and a half before most other freshman. He has two days before he’s supposed to meet the boys on the hockey team, so that means two days of getting organised and acquainted with the Samwell Campus.

Will sits up, looking at the bags, boxes, and suitcases scattered on his side of the room. He groans as he thinks about how much work he has to do to finish unpacking. He flops back down on his bed.

“I’ll do it in a few,” Will mumbles to himself, eyes already closing.

He knows he really should be productive but, right now, in the quiet of his room and the smell of fall drifting in through the open window he can’t. He takes a deep breath and relaxes, ready to start the next chapter of his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to comment, favourite, kudos! <3 <3


	3. Chapter Three - Then

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick disclaimer, I'm not a spanish speaker (3 years in high school obviously don't count) so please forgive any mistakes! I'm definitely open to someone correcting them since I just tried to use common pet names. Thanks so much happy reading!

Mama had been so proud of him when she came to pick him up. William hadn’t been picked up yet so Derek had quietly asked if he would want to meet his Mama.

“Yes!” William immediately stopped colouring and jumped off his chair.

Derek couldn’t help but smile as he gathered up his things and packed them into his purple backpack. William seemed to be practically vibrating beside him. Derek put on his backpack and nodded for William to follow him.

Mama smiled widely and dropped down to hug him. “Hola, mi amor. Did you have a good day?”

Derek nodded and pulled back. “Mama, this is my new friend William.”

Mama’s eyes lit up and she turned to William. “Well hello there, it’s very nice to meet you.”

“Hi Mrs Derek’s Mom!” William stumbled a bit over the ‘s’ but didn’t let that stop him. William stuck out a tiny hand much like he had when he introduced himself to Derek.

Mama laughed and shook his hand. William beamed widely at Derek.

“Derek’s the bestest,” He stated to Mama. “He drew Magenta on my desk tag, and let me have some of his goldfish, and I gived him some of my juice.”

Derek blushed as Mama looked over at him; Derek was notorious for not wanting to share anything so that fact that he willingly shared his snack with William said a lot.

“Well that’s very nice of you to share with each other. Is your mom here William?”

William shook his head. “No, she won’t be here till later because she works.”

Mama nodded. “I’ll have to meet her sometime and maybe we can plan a play date between you two. Would you both like that?”

William started nodding vigorously. “Yes, yes! Derek we could play superheroes at the park!”

William had grabbed Derek’s arm and started bouncing up and down. Derek stared at him for a long moment. William was a ball of energy that Derek had no idea if he would ever match up to it. Derek glanced at Mama who nodded encouragingly at him. Derek looked back at William who was beaming and bouncing and just a bundle of movement.

“Can I be Superman?”

“Yeah! I’ll be Batman and we can fight the bad guys together!”

Derek smile was shy and he nodded a bit more confidently. William reached out and hugged him, startling Derek, who had never been hugged by another kid before.

“We’re gonna be the bestest friends.” William whispered.

“Yeah.” Derek replied.

“Come on Derek, we have to get home.” Mama said gently. “It was nice to meet you William.”

William nodded and let go of Derek. “Bye Derek, see you tomorrow!”

“Bye.” Derek responded.

William gave him one last smile before turning and going back to their table in the corner, most likely to finish his drawing. Derek turned to look up at Mama, who was smiling fondly at him.

“Okay, mi vida,” Mama held out her hand. “Let’s get going, you can tell me about your day on the train home.”

Derek took it and they headed out. Derek wasn’t much of a talkative child by nature but Mama always managed to coax easy conversations out of him. Derek talked about how William had introduced himself and decided they were friends almost immediately.

He talked about how William had been so impressed when Derek managed to write his name on his desk tag. Mama spent the whole train ride smiling softly at his, occasionally reaching over and smoothing down his hair. She would ask him a few questions here and there but mainly it was Derek that did the talking.

When they reached their stop Derek reached for Mama’s hand. Mama smiled down at him and tucked him closely to her side as they head out onto the platform.

“What shall we make for dinner tonight?”

Derek fiddled with his backpack strap as they headed up to the busy streets of Uptown Manhattan. “Can we make enchiladas?”

“Of course.” Mama replied. “I think we have everything we need at home so we don’t have to stop at the store.”

As they headed up the block to their townhouse Derek thought about how easy it was to be friends with William. William who seemed liked Derek’s polar opposite, loud, excitable, and who didn’t seem to care if he coloured outside the lines. Derek had never thought his first friend would be someone like that, but William was different.

William didn’t mind that Derek wasn’t very talkative, or that he was careful with his things. He didn’t seem to regret his choice of declaring them friends. In fact William seemed to enjoy Derek’s company, especially when they started talking about superheroes.

Derek smiled to himself as Mama unlocked the front door. “Okay, why don’t you go change out of you school clothes so you don’t get them dirty? I’m going to cut up some veggies for a snack and then you can help me with dinner.”

Derek nodded as he headed up the stairs to his room. He changed into an old Superman shirt that didn’t really fit him anymore, may he could ask Mama to get him a new one this weekend. He set his backpack down at the small desk he used for colouring and headed back downstairs. Derek was excited for Mom to get home so he could tell her all about school and William and the plan of a possible play date.

•••••••••

“And then his Mommy said we could have a play date!” William swung their arms as he jumped over cracks in the sidewalk.

“Oh wow, I’ll have to see if I can catch her sometime to make sure this play date happens.” Mommy replied.

William cheered as he made one last hop over a crack and then tucked himself closer to her side as they got to the subway. The subway always made William nervous, there were so many people and trains that he would get overwhelmed very easily. Mommy always understood though, so she would never let go of his hand, and if they couldn’t get a seat she would always make sure to hold him tightly while the train was moving.

William spent most of the journey home being fairly quiet; Mommy would ask him occasional questions about his day and how he seemed to like school so far. It was hard to answer those questions, William thought, because he’d only been there one day. He did talk about Derek though and how he was really happy when Derek helped him pick which superhero to draw.

Mommy made sure he was ready when their stop came. William instantly reached to grab her hand again and followed her out of the busy train and onto the platform. They maneuvered their way through the crowds and up into the afternoon lit Bronx neighbourhood they called home.

“Will Daddy and Janie be home?” William asked.

“They should be, Janie’s doctors appointment was an hour ago and Daddy had no problem’s picking her up.”

William nodded, he had been slightly disappointed that Janie couldn’t join them on the their journey home because he wanted to tell her all about school, but at least now he could tell her and Daddy together at dinner.

“Is Daddy making dinner?”

Mommy laughed and ruffled his hair. “I don’t think so, don’t you remember the last time he tried to make Mac&Cheese?”

William giggled as he remembered how Daddy burnt the pot so bad that they had throw it out. Mommy had not been pleased and Daddy had been told he was only allowed to make dinner if it involved ordering takeout.

“I think we’ll be starting dinner when we get home.”

William smiled as he started jumping over cracks in the sidewalk again. He was careful not to stray too far from Mommy since she didn’t insist to take his hand to keep him close.

“William?” Mommy called.

“What Mommy?”

“Since had such a good first day why don’t we pick up something special for dessert?”

William’s eyes widened. “Really?”

Mommy nodded and smiled. She stretched out her hand and he took it eagerly. William beamed as they headed to the Bodega a block from their apartment. He was hoping they still had donuts because really wanted a cinnamon sugar one.

William wondered what kind of donut Derek liked, or if he even liked donuts at all. William gasped and Mommy looked at him with concern.

“What sweetie?”

William turned to her with wide eyes. “What if Derek doesn’t like donuts?”

Mommy’s face softened and she smiled at him. “I don’t think you have to worry about that. I’m sure Derek likes donuts, but you can ask him tomorrow.”

“I will.” William nodded seriously and then tugged Mommy into the Bodega and towards the donuts.

“How many are we getting Mommy?”

“One each,” Mommy stated as she forced William to slow down so she could grab a basket. “We’ll pick a few more things up while we’re here okay?”

William nodded and wandered over to where the drinks were. “Can I get a chocolate milk Mommy?”

Mommy sighed fondly as she put a bag of apples in the basket. “Yes, but get your sister one too.”

William ran off to grab the chocolate milk. He wondered is Derek like chocolate milk or if he liked plain milk better. William was thinking of a lot of questions he would have to ask Derek tomorrow. He hoped they would get dropped off at the same time because then his Mommy could meet Derek’s Mommy and they could talk about their play date.

He didn’t know where Derek lived but maybe he lived close! Or maybe he lived near a park. William carefully made his way back to Mommy because he didn’t want to drop the chocolate milk.

“Can we go to the park for our play date Mommy?”

“I don’t know, I still have to meet Derek’s Mom and then we’ll figure it out. I’m sure wherever we have the play date you two boys will have fun.”

“Yeah, we will.” William beamed and nodded to himself. “Derek’s my bestest friend.”

Mommy smiled down at him, running a gently hand over his hair. “I know sweetheart, I’m glad you made a friend today.”

“Me too.” William replied. “Can we get donuts now?”

Mommy laughed as William dragged her over to the donuts. William was happy Mommy was proud of him for making a friend; he couldn’t wait for tomorrow so Mommy could meet Derek.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to kudos, comment, and bookmark!


	4. Chapter Four - Now

Derek wakes up in parts, first because of the unfamiliar noises outside his room. He rolls over and tries to tune them out but his alarm starts blaring. He doesn’t bother lifting his head to look for it, just throws his arm out and waves it around until it comes into contact with the clock Mama insisted he have.

Derek grudgingly rolls over and squints at the sun coming through his window. He wishes he could just go back to sleep but he had stupidly promised Shitty he’d meet him for breakfast so he could show him around campus and catch up.

Mom and Mama are going to meet him for an early dinner before they head back to New York. Derek half wonders if he’ll get a lecture like he had when he went off to Andover. He doubts it thought because he had proved to be responsible and maintained excellent grades and actively participating in clubs and the hockey team.

Mama will probably give him the talk about being safe and responsible. It’ll be embarrassing and awkward because he’s heard it multiple times before but he deals with it because it puts her at ease. Mom will fuss over him and make sure he has everything he needs before breaking down in a teary mess and talks about how much she’s going to miss him but how proud she and Mama are of him.

He knows this routine by heart because it’s what happened every year they dropped him off at Andover. Secretly he cherishes these moments because he knows some of his friends at Andover had parents who couldn’t care less about them. Who had sent them there so they wouldn’t take up space at home, so he knows how lucky he is to have two parents who shower him in unconditional love and affection.

Derek decides he should get up and get ready because Shitty won’t let him hear the end of it if he’s late. Derek had showered last night to wash off the day of travel and smell of airplane. Samwell still has that mid-August heat so he slips on a dark blue polo and some tan shorts; he shoves his feet into his worn loafers.

He unplugs his phone from where it’s been charging on his desk and see’s he has a message from Shitty. It just tells him he’ll be at the statue on the Lake Quad in about fifteen minutes. That gives Derek enough time to quickly go to the bathroom and brush his teeth.

The dorm is pretty quiet, not too many people have moved in yet and Derek relishes in the silence since he know it won’t last for long. Derek absently wonders what his roommate will be like, he hopes the guy isn’t a complete asshole and understands boundaries.

One of his roommates at Andover had not understood boundaries _at all_ , and constantly used to take and use Derek’s things without asking. It had driven him nuts, especially when the guy broke five of his sketching pencils.

He really hopes that doesn’t happen this time. He doesn’t know much about the dorms at Samwell. He knows that Blexly Hall, the building on the opposite end of Lake Quad beside the commons building, is the gender-inclusive housing. It had peaked his interest when he was looking through the housing application. Ultimately though Derek had decided to apply to Glilson Hall because it was closer to where most of his classes were going to be.

Derek heads back to his dorm after he’s done in the bathroom. He puts his toothbrush and toothpaste in the shower caddy Mom had bought him. Derek grabs his wallet and cell and shoves them into his pockets. He locks his dorm behind him and heads to meet Shitty.

It’s brighter outside than Derek expected. He squints slightly and debates going back in to grab his sunglasses. He decides against it since he’ll probably be late to meet Shitty if he does. He’s still trying to get the layout of the campus but the statue they’re meeting at is easy enough to find.

As Derek makes his way onto the quad he can vaguely make out someone standing at the statue. He knows it’s Shitty solely based off the cut off jean shorts and man bun. Shitty notices Derek walking up and instantly makes a beeline for him.

“Derek Nurse!” Shitty smiles and pulls him into a hug. “Good to see you man, welcome to Samwell.”

“Shitty man, hey good to see you too.” Derek pats his back twice and pulls away.

“You ready for the season to start?” Shitty loops his arm around Derek’s neck and starts dragging him in the direction of the coffee shop Mom had insisted they stop at because she needed coffee before she could even think about helping him set up his dorm room.

“I think so, been training most of the summer.”

“Good, I think you’ll fit in well. Coach will probably rotate you through being paired with other frogs until you find a good fit.”

Derek nods, it pretty much happens with every new team he joins. He’s not overly concerned because he has always worked well with any partner he’s been paired with.

“So how have you been? Last time we talked you were telling me you got into Samwell.” Shitty lets go of Derek fully and opens the door to the coffee shop.

Derek shrugs. “I’ve been fine, mainly training, packing and spending time with family.”

“And how are Mom and Mama Nurse doing?”

“They’re good, Mama has a show coming up in a few weeks but I don’t think I’ll be able to make it out. Mom has been branching out a bit with the cases she takes because she says that the private sector is great but she’s seen too many bad businesses lately.”

Shitty nods as they move to get a spot in line. There aren’t too many people in the coffee shop but there are a few occupied tables and three people ahead of them in line.

“Is she thinking of leaving the private sector then?”

Derek shakes his head. “Nah, she’s thinking more about doing some pro bono work. She’s wanting to maybe get into family law, especially in regards to adoption cases.”

Before Shitty can respond they’ve reached the front of the line.

“Hi, welcome to Annie’s what can I get started for you today?” The girl behind the counter smile, she’s rather petite, with dark blonde hair and bright hazel eyes.

Derek does a quick glance at her nametag, Rosie, is what it reads. Derek looks up at the board behind her to get an idea of what they have since he wasn’t paying much attention while they were in line.

“A medium black coffee for me,” Shitty says and then turns to Derek obviously expecting him to state what he wants.

“Just a medium latte please,” Derek replies. He’ll have to come back another time to try their different selections of tea they have.

“Do you guys want anything to eat?” She tilts her head in the direction of the display case while she writes their drink orders down on their cups.

Shitty looks over the different food options but eventually shakes his head. “I think we’re good this time Rosie, we have practice our first practice tomorrow.”

Rosie nods, a slight smirk gracing her lips. “Right, can’t have anything ruining your figures.”

Shitty nods and leans against the counter and fishes out his wallet. “Exactly, now how much do I owe you?”

Rosie punches a few buttons before looking up. “$4.35 total.”

Shitty pulls out a bill and hands it over.

“Wait,” Derek reaches to stop Shitty who just turns to him with a raised eyebrow.

“Derek man, I’ve got this one, you can get it the next time.” Shitty says easily.

Derek rolls his eyes. “Fine, but that doesn’t mean you can order the most expensive thing.”

Shitty laughs and reaches out to clap him on the back. “I would never. I’ll order the second most expensive thing.”

Rosie laughs softly, and hands Shitty his change. Shitty dumbs it into the little tip jar beside the till.

“See you later Rosie.” Shitty waves as he heads over where another barista is making their drinks.

Rosie nods and glances at Derek, giving him a quick once over. Derek feels uncomfortable with her slight scrutiny, even though she seems to a friend of Shitty’s.

“Shitty obviously forgot his manners, I’m Rosie you’ll be most likely be seeing a lot of me.” Rosie extends her hand across the counter.

Derek takes it, giving it a firm two shakes. “Derek, nice to meet you.”

“You too.” Rosie smiles, Derek notices it’s a very nice smile, he wonders absently if she would ever mind sitting for a portrait.

Shitty appears holding their drinks, shoving Derek’s at him. “Now that we have our caffeine our tour of Samwell can commence.”

Derek sighs but there’s hardly any annoyance in it, he’s missed Shitty. Derek offers a wave to Rosie and starts to follow Shitty where he has already started to leave.

“Oh, Knight! Tell Eric that his mini pie recipe did the trick!” Rosie calls after them.

Shitty turns and gives her a mock salute. “Will do Hartwell!”

Derek shakes his head as he leaves the shop; even with all the noise no one seemed to pay them any mind. The fear Derek had about choosing Samwell over the other schools he had gotten in to eases, he feels at home here. There’s still a part of him that’s afraid, afraid of judgement, of being open, but he thinks that maybe Samwell can help him stop being so afraid; maybe Samwell is where he needs to be.

 •••••••••

Will sits with his legs crossed, back against the head of the bed as he types away on his laptop. He’s mainly checking emails and looking over the list of classes that he’s going to check out before making his finalised schedule. He has a pretty good idea of what his schedule was going to look like but there were still a few classes up in the air. He had called his parents earlier this morning to tell them all about his room and the small bit of campus he had managed to see. Mom had still sounded teary but was proud of him. Dad had reminded him to send them a schedule of his games and when parent weekend was so they could plan time off.

Will smiles to himself as he remembers how he had to promise them several times that he would get all the information today. Will taps a few more keys and pulls up the email in regards to the first official practice of the season. He checks the time and makes a note that he should start getting ready soon.

His gear is all packed and ready by his closet. He’s looking forward to getting back on the ice since he didn’t manage to practice much this summer. In between work and training and getting ready for school he only had a few chances to get on the ice.

Will closes his laptop and gets up to plug it in at his desk. He looks up to the small collage board he has above it that Janie had made him as a graduation present and presented it to him once they got to Samwell. It had a bunch of pictures of their family along with tickets from some of his games. He reaches out and runs a careful finger over the photo from their last big family get together, his graduation dinner.

He didn’t have a big graduation party, frankly because he didn’t need nor want one. His parents had insisted they do something to celebrate though so his mom made his favourite lobster mac and cheese and a special carrot cake cheesecake for dessert. His whole family had come over to surprise him.

He couldn’t have asked for a better way to celebrate. He knew dinners like that were going to be few and far between now. After dessert was done Mom and Dad gathered them all into the living room for pictures and for his graduation gift. Will had been surprised when he had been presented with the blue and green wrapped box along with a few cards. He hadn’t really expected to get any gifts.

Will had opened the cards first, a few had some money from his grandparents and aunts and uncles. Two were obviously handmade from Mason and Molly, their letters still a little wonky and a bit too many stickers but Will loved them just the same. There was also a card from his parents that he decided to read in the privacy of his own room. He turned to the box and began carefully tearing off the paper, Janie beside him teasing about doing it for the suspense.

He couldn’t hide the gasp when he removed all the paper to see what the box held. A laptop. Will looked up at Mom and Dad who were smiling at him.

“We figured it would be easier to have your own than always relying on the school computers.” Mom stated. “It’s used, but they promised that it worked good as new.”

Dad leaned over and patted his shoulder. “Plus this way there’s no excuse for not getting your schoolwork done.”

The joke was delivered a bit gruffly but everyone in the room laughed, Will’s laugh sounded a bit choked but no one mentioned it.

“Thank you so much.” Will got up and hugged them both tightly, then he went around and hugged everyone else. Thanking them for coming and for the cards.

He excused himself to go put his things in his room and promised he’d be back in a few to Captain a team with Mason to play against Molly and Janie and his little cousins.

Will had gone into his room, cradling his laptop like a child. He sat down on his bed and stared at it. Sure it was second hand and had a few dings here and there, but it was his and it would do exactly what he would need.

He hugged his laptop to his chest and felt a few tears escape. He had been trying to save up to buy his own laptop but between hockey gear and chipping in for family expenses his savings had been minimal. For his parents to get him a laptop, no matter how old or how beat up made something in Will clench painfully.

He’s startled out of his memories by the dorm door swinging open. Will turns to see three boxes standing in the doorway. Will laughs to himself and figures this must be his roommate Luca. He had gone over the email in regards to his roommate early in the week and can only remember a few facts off the top of his head.

“Need a hand?” Will asks as he moves to grab the top box.

They jump when he speaks and there’s a muffled swear. Will carefully takes the top box and is met with two blue eyes peaking over the second box.

“Hi.” Will smiles and moves to set the box on the desk opposite his. “I’m Will.”

“Luca.”

“I hope you don’t mind that I already claimed a side, but they seem pretty much identical.” Will states, awkwardly shoving his hands into his shorts pockets.

He can vaguely see Luca nod from behind the boxes. Luca’s shorter than Will by a few inches and when Luca finally starts moving into the room Will can see a dark brown braid going down Luca’s back.

“It’s fine.” Luca looks a bit uncomfortable as he sets the boxes down on the unclaimed bed. “I’m just going to grab the rest of my stuff.”

Before Will can offer to help Luca’s already left.

“Okay then.” Will mumbles to himself.

He knows that meeting your roommate for the first time can be a bit awkward. He hopes he won’t spend the whole year feeling awkward and uncomfortable in his own dorm because his roommate doesn’t seem to want to talk to him.

Will sighs and grabs his phone, ready to start texting Janie to ask advice. He remembers how she hadn’t gotten along with her first year roommate at all. Will’s halfway through a text to Janie about how his new roommate is moving in when Luca comes back in with two suitcases trailing behind him.

“Hey,” Luca says as puts his suitcases near his bed.

“Hey.” Will replies still feeling incredibly awkward.

“I didn’t really expect you to be moved in already.” Luca says as he starts unpacking the box on the desk.

“I’m on the hockey team and it’s preseason so,” Will shrugs.

Luca nods. “Ah, okay.”

Will doesn’t miss the way Luca tenses when he mentioned being an athlete. Will figures they best get any misconceptions out of the way because he really doesn’t want to have a shitty relationship with his roommate.

“Uh Luca, I know there’s the whole stereotype of hockey dudes being assholes, and yeah that’s definitely true for some people, but not me.” Will says; Luca doesn’t look too convinced so Will continues. “I’ve been out since I was fifteen, I don’t put up with any homophobic locker room shit. I signed up to be in Blexly Hall because I grew up in a pretty conservative town and I never really got to experience being around other people like me. I’m not going to judge you or be a dick to you because of how you identify and who you are.”

Luca looks a bit stunned and then a blush takes over his face. “Oh.”

He sits, or more well falls, down onto his bed. He starts fidgeting with the edge of his shirt; he doesn’t look at Will for a few minutes. Will waits him out though, because he knows it’s important for someone to work through what they want to say by themselves.

“I’m sorry.” Luca says eventually. “We don’t even know each other and I immediately assumed the worst, even though all the people I talked to assured me that anyone I got roomed with would be open and accepting, and if they weren’t I’d be able to change rooms and they’d be asked to change dorms. I just kind of felt like Samwell and Blexly were too good to be true. I mean a whole school that is so open and accepting and welcoming, it’s just crazy.”

Will nods because he gets that. “It’s okay, I don’t want to feel uncomfortable just as much as you don’t.”

Luca looks up at Will. “I uh, I come from a pretty conservative place too. My parents had a really hard time coming to terms with my coming out. I uh, I talked to them about transitioning when I was thirteen they thought I was just going through a phase for awhile.”

Will sits down on his own bed, he’s a bit surprised by Luca sharing this right away but he figures if Luca wasn’t comfortable sharing he wouldn’t be.

“I know I’m pretty fortunate because once my parents realised it wasn’t a phase they tried to help me as best they could. I still had a really hard time with high school but other kids my age that go through all that usually don’t have the support of their parents.”

Will nods. “Yeah, my parents had a hard time too, my mom cried when I first told her but because she was scared for me, and everything I would have to go through. So uh, what pronouns do you prefer using?”

Luca looks a bit startled but then offers Will a tentative smile. “I prefer he/him pronouns thanks.”

Will smiles widely in return. “No problem.”

Luca stands up quickly and moves towards Will. “How about we try this whole introduction thing again?”

Will laughs and stands up. “Sure.”

“Luca Miller, nice to meet you.” Luca extends his hand to Will.

“Will Poindexter, nice to meet you too.”

Luca’s handshake is firm and his palms are much smoother than Will’s. Will smiles and then checks the clock on his desk.

“Shit, I gotta get going or I’ll be late, sorry I can’t help you unpack.”

Luca smiles and shrugs. “It’s fine, I figured I’d be unpacking everything by myself anyways. What time is practice over?”

“Probably around 4:30.”

Luca nods. “Would you maybe want to grab dinner together? Get to know each other a bit more?”

Will smiles. “Yeah, I’d like that, we can check out how the dining hall food really matches up.”

Luca laughs. “Sounds good, have a good practice.”

Will slings his bag over his shoulder, calls out another quick goodbye, and heads to the rink. The first practice of the season and he feels the nerves churning in his stomach. Will knows that he’s a good player, a good defence man, he wouldn’t have been offered a full ride scholarship if he wasn’t. Still though, there’s a small part of him that’s afraid he’s going to mess it all up and get kicked off the team.

Faber isn’t too long of a walk from his dorm thankfully, he could have dropped his gear off earlier but he didn’t want to run the risk of anything getting mixed up, but after today he’ll leave it at the rink. He knows Luca will appreciate that, because as much as anyone says they don’t mind, the smell of sweaty pads airing out is never pleasant.

It’s early enough that there’s hardly anyone around during his walk, not that there’s not many people currently on campus. Will enjoys the quiet atmosphere, sure he’ll get used to the hustle and bustle that comes with the start of the semester, but for now he relishes in the calm surrounding campus.

Will has to shuffle a bit to open the door once he reaches Faber because he try as he might he always manages to get his bag caught in the door. His bag only gets stuck once and there’s no one around to witness it so Will thinks that maybe it’s a sign that practice will go well.

He follows the signs then the loud voices and he easily finds the locker room. The door’s wide open, which isn’t surprising considering no one is getting dressed yet. Although there are a few guys missing shirts, but considering the level of undress that usually happens in locker rooms he’s not overly shocked by it.

“Looks like we’ve got another Frog joining us!” Someone calls out.

It takes Will a second to realise they’re referring to him.

“Uh, hey.”

A tall blonde guy comes over and claps him on the shoulder. “Hey bro, my name’s Holster, welcome to the team.”

“Will, and thanks, glad to be here.”

Holster smiles crookedly and leads him over to one of the empty lockers. “Set your stuff down here and I’ll go around and introduce you.”

Will drops his bag in the empty space and quickly tries to catch up with all of the people he’s being introduced to. There’s Ransom, one of the shirtless guys whose Holster’s dman partner. Bitty, a small blonde with a bright smile and an apparent knack for baking is sitting next to Jack, who doesn’t really need an introduction but gets one anyways. Ollie and Wicks another dman pair who seem to be arguing over which Britney Spears song is the best to sing for karaoke.

Will has a bit of a hard time keeping up with all the names but he knows he’ll be able to pick them up soon enough. Holster ruffles his hair as they finish their introductions and end up back at his locker.

“Shitty and Lardo took a couple Frogs to help Coach Hall out but they’ll be back soon. So, how long have you played D?”

Will resists the urge to ask about Shitty, he knows hockey nicknames can get a bit weird but, Shitty? Really? Instead he sits down and starts digging out his gear and answers Holsters question.

“I started playing hockey when I was seven but didn’t fully stay on D until I was nine.”

“Cool bro.”

Holster starts talking to him about how the defence system at Samwell works and what the coaches will be expecting from him. He appreciates the advice because even though he’s played most of his life there’s still a bit of an adjustment period when it comes to joining a new team.

Holster’s just finishing telling him about how Lardo is not one to be messed with, and how he should never try to challenger her to Flip Cup if he wants to maintain his dignity when, “Speak of the devil, if it isn’t our prestigious manager. Lardo, Shitty, come meet our newest Frog.”

Will looks over to see a man with a moustache and man bun, who he assumes is Shitty, standing next to a petite brunette, who must be Lardo. He stands up to go over and introduce himself when two more guys come stumbling in, they must be the other Frogs Holster was talking about.

The first one is wearing a teal sweatshirt with the San Jose Sharks logo in the middle, and he’s smiling and nodding at whatever the other Frog is saying. The second finally steps into view and-

“Will?”

Will’s heart stops.

He feels his palms start sweating and he has to tell himself to keep breathing. He turns slowly from where he had been looking at Lardo and comes face to face with the boy he hasn’t seen since he was fifteen.

“Derek.” He whispers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to comment, kudos, and bookmark! :)


	5. Chapter Five - Then

“Mama, when’s your next show?” Derek sat at the kitchen table, eating his Cheerio’s and working on his science homework.

“Not for another few months.” Mama hummed as she sipped her tea and flipped through her magazine. “Why?”

“Just wondering.” Derek kicked his feet against the legs of his chair. “Mama?”

“Yes sweetheart?”

“Can you make me and William matching superhero costumes for Halloween?”

Mama paused, putting her teacup on its saucer. “Halloween is months away, are you sure you and William will still want to be matching by then?”

“Of course Mama,” Derek replied, looking over at her with wide eyes. “We’re always matching.”

Mama smiled softly. “Yes, that’s true, how about we talk about it more closer to Halloween? You two are still growing and I don’t want to make you costumes now that aren’t going to fit by October.”

Derek nodded and went back to finishing his cereal. “Thanks Mama.”

They sat in silence for a few moments, while Derek finished his homework. Once he was done he got up to put his dish in the sink and his homework in his folder in his backpack.

“Are you all ready for school?” Mama asked.

Derek nodded and went to grab his coat. “Yes Mama.”

“Okay, just give me a few minutes and then we’ll go okay mi vida?”

Derek sat down on the bottom stairs and tied up his shoes. He fiddled making sure the bows were perfect. He stands up and puts on his coat that he Mama made him for his birthday, the inside lining has a secret superhero pocket that Derek likes to keep his mini Superman and Batman action figures in.

William had been _so_ jealous of him when he saw it, but Derek had helped quelled that jealousy by keeping the special Spiderman trading card William had made him for his birthday.

“Okay mi vida?” Mama came up behind him and brushed a gentle hand over his hair$.

“Mama, stop.” Derek tried ducking out from her hand because he didn’t want her messing up his hair.

“Fine, fine, I’m sorry.” Mama laughed as she slipped on her own coat and grabbed her purse. “Mom’s going to pick you up from school today because I have a few late meetings. So if you’ve had a good day then maybe you two can come meet me and we can all go out for dinner?”

Derek perked up that; Mom hardly ever picked him up from school because her schedule was much busier than Mama’s. “Really? Could we get pizza?”

Derek jumped down the front steps while Mama locked the front door. Derek waited for her, carefully toeing around the few puddles on the sidewalk. The snow had finally started melting, which made Derek excited because it meant that summer was getting closer. He was excited for summer because William and he had planned on doing a hockey summer camp.

“Ready?” Mama came up beside him, easily avoiding the puddles with her heels.

Derek was always surprised at how well Mama and Mom managed to trek around New York in their heels instead of sneakers like his. He remembered one time when he was little he tried on a pair of Mama’s heels and he ended up falling and scraping his knee.

“Yes Mama.” Derek jumped over a puddle.

Mama smiled and reached out her hand to him. Derek may have just turned seven but it didn’t matter how old he was, he’d always hold Mama’s hand.

“So, what are guys learning about today?” Mama swung their hands between them as they headed towards the subway station.

Derek started telling her about how they were going to start learning all about the rainforest and it’s ecosystem. He missed the way Mama’s smile softened every time he mentioned William’s name.

 •••••••••

“Mommy, can Derek come over for a play date this weekend? I want to show him my new trucks.” William ran into the living room, all dressed and ready for school.

Mommy looked up from her work. “You’ll have to check with his mom’s but I don’t see why not. Would he be staying for lunch or dinner?”

William cheered. “Thanks Mommy you’re the best!” He ran to hug her tightly. “He’d probably stay for dinner.”

“Okay, well I’ll call Marie and we’ll make time arrangements later.” Mommy laughed. “Now go finish your breakfast, we have to leave soon.”

“Okay!” William smiled and ran back to the kitchen table.

Janie rolled her eyes as William flopped back into his chair.

“You have way too much energy in the morning.” Janie mumbled before going back to her oatmeal.

William shrugged. “Not my fault you’re always grumpy.”

Janie glared at him. She had been a bit more moody ever since she had started Middle School. Mommy said it had something with Puberty, whatever that was. William just knew that she got mad at him more easily but she always ended up apologising and promising she still loved him even though he was annoying.

William poured himself some cereal, careful not to spill any milk and then dug in. He thought about what games he and Derek could play this weekend. He wondered if Derek had any games he wanted to play, he’d have to ask him at school later.

Mommy walked into the kitchen, going straight to pour herself another cup of coffee. William didn’t get why his parents drank that stuff, he snuck a sip of Daddy’s when he wasn’t looking and spit it back out because it was so gross. He didn’t know why they didn’t drink something yummier, like orange juice, or chocolate milk!

“William?” Mommy asked.

William looked up from where he was mushing his Shreddies so they would soak up all the milk equally. “Yes Mommy?”

“Do you want to invite anyone else over for a play date?”

William’s face scrunched up. “Why? I’m already asking Derek, and Derek doesn’t like playing with too many people. He says they don’t understand the rules and play wrong.”

Janie snorted into her oatmeal and Mommy rolled her eyes.

“I know that sweetheart, but I meant on another day, would you want to invite someone else over besides Derek to come for a play date?”

William tilted his head, thinking it over. “No, Derek’s the best for play dates.”

Mommy sighed and moved from the counter to take the seat beside William.

“William don’t you think that you should spend time with some other kids? Make some other friends besides Derek?”

“Why?”

“Because, most kids your age have a lot of friends.”

“But I have Derek. Derek’s my best friend and I’m his, we don’t need other friends.”

Mommy sighed again and William noticed Janie had stopped eating and was watching the two of them intently.

“I’m not saying you two have to stop being best friends, but it wouldn’t hurt to make some other friends too.”

William had other friends, he played with Amanda and Jason and Tyson and Derek during recess. He must have stayed silent a bit too long because Mommy started talking again.

“Sweetheart,” Mommy said gently. “What if one day something happens and you and Derek aren’t friends anymore?”

William laughed. “That’s silly Mommy, Derek and me are always going to be best friends.”

She was just being silly, William thought. He couldn’t imagine Derek and him ever not being best friends. They knew each other’s favourite colours, and William always let Derek be Superman during superhero games. Derek would even bring snacks to share on Thursdays because for some reason William _always_ forgot his snack those days.

So no, William thought, they’d never not be best friends. Never ever.


	6. Chapter Six - Now

“Will?” Derek stops dead inside the locker room door.

Familiar hazel eyes widen as they stare back at him. “Derek?”

“You guys know each other? Bro, small world!” Holster claps Will on the shoulder and that seems to shake him out of where he’s frozen.

“Uh, yeah, we went to elementary school together.” Will says as he turns back to his gear.

“Hi, Chris Chow, goalie.” Chris makes a beeline towards Will.

Derek watches Will turn to Chris and smile. It’s a drastic difference to the greeting Derek got.

“William Poindexter.” Will extends his hand to Chris.

“You okay man?” Shitty nudges Derek in the shoulder.

Derek turns to Shitty, offering him a smile. “Course, man, never better.”

Shitty stares at him, assessing him but decides not to push it. Derek knows he’s not off the hook though because Shitty doesn’t let things go too easily.

“Come on guys,” Jack says. “Finish getting ready.”

“You got it Cap!” Shitty mock salutes Jack and heads over to the locker beside him. Derek tries to catch Will’s eye one last time but Will’s staring down at his gear.

Chris has wandered over to his stall on the other side of the locker room. Derek doesn’t waste any more time in going to his locker and getting ready.

He feels ready once he steps out onto the ice. It’s only been a few weeks since his last practice but that one was by himself so he’s ready for actual drills and someone to pass the puck too.

Coach Hall and Coach Murray go through quick introductions and Samwell’s playing style but don’t waste much time since it’s always easier to show than explain. Derek starts off practice by working with Ollie and Wicks, they first go over a few passing drills then focus more on how the defence works as a unit.

Soon Coach Murray is blowing his whistle calling for everyone to come to centre ice.

“Okay everyone, Coach Hall is going take Forwards over on the other side the ice and work on line rushes and passing. I’ll be taking Defence and Goalies on this end and we’ll be focussing on pairings and puck movement.”

They start with puck movement; Holster and Ransom demonstrate what Coach Murray wants them to do. They don’t stick to pairing for the drill, mainly cycling through and focussing on what each individual’s strengths and weaknesses are. Coach Hall ends up skating over halfway through to borrow a goalie so they can practice shooting drills.

Derek’s glad that Chris is the goalie that stays on their end. They’ve only known each other for a few hours but Derek knows they’ll end up being very good friends. Chris is a little odd and hyperactive but every goalie Derek has ever met has been odd in one way or another.

Ransom skates up next to him while Coach Murray is explaining something to Ollie and Wicks.

“How you liking practice so far?” He asks.

Derek shrugs. “Good, pretty standard. Samwell’s defence style is pretty similar to Andover’s so it shouldn’t be too much of an adjustment for me.”

Ransom smiles and nods. “Good, Holts and I are excited we got you and Poindexter over there for frogs this year. You two ever played together?”

He nods to where Will is looking serious as he discusses something with Holster. Even behind the facemask Derek can make out how Will’s brows are furrowed and his mouth is drawn in a thin line. It’s a contrast to how Holster is smiling and laughing.

“We played together when we were kids but nothing serious. He moved to Maine when we were ten.” Derek shrugs.

“Cool.” Ransom smiles. “You more offensive or defensive?”

Derek’s thankful they’ve moved back to hockey territory. “Defensive, I can jump on a rush if I need to and push the zone if I’m there but most of the time at Andover I played a defensive game.”

“Good, we need more of that.” Ransom smiles.

Coach Murray calls for them all to gather up and Ransom taps his stick against Derek before skating over to Holster. Coach explains how they’re going to work on defending in the corner. He starts calling out pairs.

“Poindexter, Nurse, I want you two together working on the right side with Ollie and Wicks.”

Derek looks over and even under all the padding he can see Will’s shoulders tensing. He knows better than to try to start a conversation so he just skates over to where Ollie and Wicks are.

Practice goes by pretty quickly after that. Will hardly says one word to him but that doesn’t mean they don’t communicate. Derek and Will may not have played together in years but that doesn’t stop them from picking up where they left off. It was almost like a sixth sense, Derek always knew where Will was, even when they all came back together and started working on speciality teams and more line rushes.

Derek feels good as he heads back to the locker room. His body aches in that familiar way and his lungs feel a touch too cool from having breathed in air at ice level for a while. He sits down in his stall, not undressing just yet, letting the locker room chatter wash over him.

Chris is a few stalls away, talking to Bitty excitedly about his freshman year; Bitty’s smiling widely at him. Holster is calling Ransom out for a fine that should be carried over from last year. Derek smiles to himself as he thinks about his new team.

He glances over at Will who’s sitting in his stall not talking to anyone. He’s efficiently stripping off his practice jersey and then his equipment. Derek looks away as Will strips off his shoulder pads.

Shitty chooses that moment to drop into the space beside Derek. He’s only wearing his boxers and Derek rolls his eyes because _of course_ Shitty still takes every opportunity to wear as little clothing as possible.

“A bunch of us are heading to Annie’s after this at Bitty’s suggestion. You in?”

Derek nods and starts taking off his jersey and pads. “Sure.”

Shitty claps him on the shoulder. “Good.”

Derek’s about to say something when Holster calls out to Will who’s on his way to the showers, towel wrapped around his waist.

“Hey Dex! Bro you coming to Annie’s?”

Will doesn’t physically flinch but Derek can see the way his hand tightens on his towel as he turns to look at Holster.

“Uh, what did you call me?” Will’s voice shakes a little but he doubts anyone else notices.

“Dex.” Holster smiles widely. “Congrats on your new nickname, you must have had some with your old teams.”

Will nods slowly. “Yeah I did, just not Dex.”

Holster tilts his head. “Oh? Well anyways, you coming to Annie’s?”

Will is inching slowly towards the showers, not that Derek thinks Holster notices.

“Nah sorry, my roommate got in today and I promised I’d show him around a bit.”

“Too bad Bro. Next time?”

“Sure.” Will says and then practically runs into the showers to avoid any more conversation.

“So,” Shitty starts, Derek looks over at him. “You going to tell me what happened between you two?”

“What? Nothing happened, practice was good.” Derek replies.

Shitty rolls his eyes. “I wasn’t talking about practice, I was talking about what happened when you guys were kids. Don’t think I forgot you talking about your best friend Will during freshman year, and if I remember correctly he was a gangly ginger with a bit of a temper. Now he may not be gangly anymore but he’s ginger and I saw him get into it with Wicks about that passing drill.”

Derek feels himself bristling but he doesn’t want to start anything. Instead he shrugs and leans back.

“We grew apart, it happens, we both got busy and didn’t see each other much. It’s nothing crazy.”

Shitty raises an eyebrow at him, narrowing his eyes slightly. “You sure about that?”

“Yeah man, it’s fine. We’re chill.”

Shitty stares at him a beat longer before standing up. “Okay man, if you say so. I’m here though, if you ever need to talk.”

He claps Derek on the shoulder one last time before grabbing a towel and heading to the showers. Derek’s glad he dropped it so easily but he knows he won’t be as lucky next time. Especially at the rate things are going with Will.

Will who flinched and looked ready to run when Holster called him Dex, the nickname Derek had given him when they were just starting to get into playing hockey. The nickname he probably hasn’t been called since he was fourteen.

Derek closes his eyes, taking a moment to get his racing heart under control. To push away the thought of hazel eyes boring in to his, looking sad and disappointed. Eyes he thought he’d never get to see again. Eyes he knows he’ll be drawing as soon as he gets back to his dorm.

 •••••••••

Will hates everything. He thought Samwell would be a fresh start, a new beginning, and it was definitely looking that way up until this afternoon.

Practice went okay up until Coach Murray put him with Derek. Will bit his cheek to keep from groaning, the last person he wanted to be partnered with but he wasn’t going to make a big deal about it.

The most infuriating part of the whole situation was that Will and Derek worked great together. It was like muscle memory; Will had almost always known where Derek was on the ice. Will hates how well they worked together; he hates how even after eight years of not playing together they were able to fall back into their easy partnership.

Will almost vomited in the middle of the locker room when Holster had called him Dex. No one has called him that in years, not that anyone besides Derek had ever called him that before. Derek, who wasn’t paying any attention to him because he was in conversation with Shitty.

He’s thankful he was able to beg off going to Annie’s and he’s going to offer to buy Luca whatever he wants in thanks. He heads up the stairs, knocking once on their dorm room door before unlocking it.

Luca’s sitting cross-legged on his bed, he seems to have unpacked most of his things during the time Will’s been gone. There’s a new curtain, instead of the burgundy one that comes with the dorms, over his closet. His bed has a dark purple duvet and his desk is so organised Janie would weep with joy.

“Hey.” Luca looks up from his notebook. “Hope you don’t mind I did some decorating.”

He motions up to the posters he’s hung up by his bed. Will doesn’t really recognise any of the people in the posters but he figures Luca would tell him if he asked.

“Nah, that’s fine. It’s your room too, decorate however you’d like,” Will pauses. “Well anything that won’t have housing yelling at us.”

Luca smiles as he unfolds his legs and tossing his notebook onto his nightstand.

“Sounds good.”

Will nods and heads over to his bed, dropping down onto it.

“How was practice?” Luca asks.

Will shrugs. “It was fine, pretty much like all first practices. The guys seem nice; you’d probably like some of them. This one guy, Bitty, he bakes a lot apparently and he always makes sure everyone’s eating properly.”

Luca who tensed a bit at the mention of meeting hockey bros seems to have eased and is smiling at him.

“Sounds like a pretty interesting group of guys.”

“Yeah, they are,” Will tries to not think about Derek. “So, you ready to grab something to eat because I’m starving.”

Luca laughs, hopping off the bed. “Yeah, let me just grab a sweater.”

Will nods; he notices that Luca has changed from his earlier outfit of sweats and a t-shirt. Now he’s wearing a pair of skinny dark wash jeans and a light blue long sleeved shirt. He grabs a yellow cardigan out of his closet and even though the colour combination is something no one could pull off Luca manages to do so effortlessly.

Will knows that at some point or another he’s going to have his own wardrobe scrutinised by Luca since his wardrobe mainly consists of worn out Henley’s, hockey shirts, sweatpants, and jeans.

Luca’s hair is out of the braid it was in before and instead pulled up into a bun. He grabs his wallet and keys from his desk and slips on a pair of loafers. “Ready?”

Will nods. “The dining hall is supposed to have really good pasta dishes, and I kinda need to carb load so I was thinking we could do that? There’s also a café near there that has good desserts.”

“Yeah, that’s good with me.”

They head out towards the dining hall. It’s not busy at all when they get there so they’re able to snag a table close to the window. Will scarfs down half his food before actually managing to start a conversation.

He’s glad Luca didn’t judge him when he ordered two servings of Chicken Alfredo and a side of fruit salad and garlic bread. Luca modestly had ordered lasagne and a Caesar salad. Luca had opted for water while Will got water and a Gatorade.

“Have you figured out your major yet or are you going to decide after shopping classes?” Will asks after a bite of chicken.

“I’m a Digital Arts Major at the moment but I’ll probably see if I want to change it after this semester.”

“Cool.” Will smiles. “What made you choose that?”

“Well I’ve always liked drawing and during my junior year I did a computer graphics class and it kind of just went from there.” Luca smiles shyly in return.

“Nice, I’m doing a Computer Programming Major but I’m thinking I might add a minor in something Software Design related.”

Luca’s smile widens at that. “Nice, so we’re both in the same kind of field. Maybe we’ll have classes together.”

Will hadn’t thought of that. “Maybe.” He smiles.

They go on to discuss a bit about their high school classes. Luca shedding more light on what it was like growing up and transitioning. He mentions his guidance counsellor was the one to suggest he apply for Samwell.

“She was great.” Luca says after finishing the last of his salad. “She would let him hang out in her office during lunch periods if she didn’t have any other students who needed her help.”

Will nods; he’s glad there was someone looking out for Luca before. He can’t even begin to imagine what it must have been like for him. He’s happy they got paired together as roommates, not just because he wants to make sure someone looks out for Luca, but because he can see them becoming really good friends.

He finds himself opening up more too. He talks about moving back to Maine and how every year was a bit of a struggle. He mentions how every summer he would work on lobster boats to get cash for hockey and any leftover money went into the family pot for things like school trips and sneakers. He never once feels any judgment coming from Luca, only interest as he asks about Janie, and Mason and Molly.

Will doesn’t mention Derek though, he knows he’ll probably tell Luca about him eventually but he’s still reeling from that fact that Derek is here, at Samwell. How they’ll most likely be partners for their entire Samwell hockey career, and how even after not talking to each other for years Will still got butterflies when Derek said his name.

Will hates himself slightly, that even though he’s been so mad at Derek for everything a part of him always remembers that shy boy who agreed to being his friend on that first day of kindergarten. That shy boy who gave him his first nickname and promised that they would always be best friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to favourite, comment, and kudos! :)


	7. Chapter Seven - Then

“Did you finish your math homework?” Derek asked as he sat at the kitchen table in the Poindexter apartment.

“Not yet, I don’t like division.” William sighed; he had his cheek resting against his hand and was frowning down at spelling list Mrs Dee had passed out yesterday.

“Division’s hard.” Derek agreed. “Mrs Dee teaches it fast.”

William nodded and looked up at Derek. “Janie was right, homework is no fun.”

Derek laughed slightly. “Yeah, it’s not fun.”

William pouted. “I feel not smart when I can’t do it.”

Derek shifted his chair closer to William’s and nudged him gently. “You’re smart William, no one gets it right the first time. How about I help you with division and you help me with spelling because you’re a real good speller.”

William smiled shyly at Derek. “Okay.”

Derek returned the smile and pulled out their math homework ready to help William.

“Derek?”

Derek looked over at William.

“I’m glad you’re my best friend.” William stated.

Derek felt his cheeks grow a bit hot and he didn’t know why. “I’m glad you’re my best friend too.”

William beamed and grabbed his notebook. They worked slowly, Derek having to go over questions a few times but eventually William managed to finish the last four questions without any help. He was practically vibrating with joy and he leaped at Derek and gave him a big hug.

“I did it!” William laughed. “Thank you!”

Derek giggled. “You did a lot of it yourself. You’re smarter than you think.”

William leaned back. “You still helped.”

Derek nodded and then reached for the spelling list. “Now it’s your turn to help me.”

William nodded eagerly. They started with William reading out one word at a time and Derek spelling them carefully in his notebook. Then William read them again and Derek spelled what he had. It took a bit longer because Derek had trouble remembering the silent letters but soon he managed to spell almost all of them right.

William beamed proudly at Derek when they finished before declaring it was break time and that he was going to ask his mom if they could have a snack and play video games.

Derek watched William bound off to the living room where his mom was. He liked that William never made fun of him for not being able to spell easy words even though a few other kids in their class had laughed when Derek couldn’t spell ‘flu’. William had told them it was mean to laugh when someone got something wrong and reminded Derek that he got two gold stars for his art project last week.

Somehow William always knew how to make Derek feel better when he was sad. Derek smiled to himself when he heard William’s shout of glee and pushed himself away from the table to go find him.

 •••••••••

 William laid back on Derek’s bed, it was much comfier than William’s. Derek’s room was also much bigger than William’s but that was mainly because Derek was an only child.

William shared his room with Janie; she got the bigger bottom bunk of their bunk beds since she was older. William hadn’t really mind sharing with Janie when he was younger but since he was eight and she was twelve it was starting to be less fun. Janie constantly got mad at him for touching her stuff, even when he was just trying to clean up a bit.

Whenever he complained to Mom and Dad they would always brush it off with the same old ‘She’s a preteen sweetie, she’ll grow out of it’ schpiel. William wished she would grow out of it quicker because it was annoying.

“Will? William?” Derek stood in front of him waving his hand.

William blinked up at him. “Sorry.” He said sheepishly. “I zoned out.”

Derek smiled and flopped down beside him. “What were you think about? You had that annoyed look on your face.”

“Nothing interesting. Just how annoying Janie’s been lately.”

Derek snorted. “Siblings sound weird.”

William looked over at him. “They are. You’re lucky.”

Derek shrugged. “I don’t know, they might be weird but they seem fun.”

William rolled his eyes and looked back up at the ceiling. “Maybe. Janie’s just weird and annoying right now. She’s not as fun as she used to be.”

Derek made a little sound of understanding but didn’t say anything. They laid there, in the silence for a few minutes. William was glad that he had Derek to talk to, even if he didn’t fully get it.

When he was younger he had asked Mom if he could have a brother because Janie was being annoying and he didn’t want to have a sister anymore. Mom had sat him down and told him that just because Janie was being annoying didn’t mean that he should say he didn’t want a sister. The next day Janie had apologised to him for wrecking his dinosaur stuffy and promised to make it up to him.

She had used her allowance money to buy him a new one a few weeks later so maybe she wasn’t always terrible. William sat up and looked over at Derek.

“Do you ever wish you had siblings?”

Derek shrugged again as he looked over at William. “Not really? I like that it’s just Mama, Mom, and me. Mama calls us the Three Muskateers, but I guess sometimes it would be cool.”

William nodded because that made sense.

“Do you want to play video games now?” Derek asked.

William smiled climbing over to the end of the bed to grab the remotes. Derek got up to set up the TV. William got settled on his side of the bed and smiled when Derek practically collapsed on top of him to grab his controller.

“Hey!” William laughed, shoving at Derek.

“Not my fault you’re in the way.” Derek replied with a smile.

William rolled his eyes but laughed when Derek nudged his shoulder. “Just for that I’m not going easy on you.”

Derek glared at him. “Like you ever do.”

Derek wasn’t very good at Mario Kart but he insisted they play because apparently the practice helped him get better. Not that he ever really got better because William never went easy on him. Derek didn’t ever get mad at him for it though.

“I will beat you one day.” Derek stated.

William laughed causing Derek to nearly shove him into the wall. William shoved him back, but slightly more gentle because he didn’t want Derek to fall off the bed. The Mario Kart music started playing, which made them both turn their attention to the TV.

“Getting scared?” Derek teased.

“Never.” William laughed.

Mama Nurse came in to tell them dinner was ready a few hours later. William had won all the races but Derek came close a few times, which made William oddly proud. He followed behind Derek as they headed to the kitchen and took his usual seat beside Derek. The Nurse house was a lot quieter than his but it still held the same sense of family and comfort. It made him feel like family even if he wasn’t blood related.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long break, I was without wifi for a couple weeks! Don't forget to comment, kudos, bookmark!


	8. Chapter Eight - Now

It’s been two weeks since the start of the semester and Derek is finally getting into the swing of things. He managed to use the trial period at the beginning of the semester to figure out which classes he wanted to take. He had decided to switch his major to Fine Arts with a minor in English Literature, he knew originally he wanted to do an arts degree but had decided if he was going to add a minor to it or not.

He’s managed to make a few friends too outside of Shitty and the hockey team. Rosie, the barista from Annie’s, is in his Intro to Literary Study class and after seeing his notes she declared they were going to be study partners for the rest of the semester because he actually seemed to know what he was doing.

Derek doesn’t mind the fact that Rosie can be a little bit in your face; he actually kind of enjoys it. Rosie’s a year older than him but didn’t decide her major until the start of the semester so she’s catching up on a few courses. They’ll probably end up sharing a few more classes, Derek thinks, since she’s Majoring in English Literature.

Derek shares one of his Core Curriculum classes, Social Sciences, with Chris aka Chowder. Ransom and Holster had bestowed Chowder his nickname last practice. Derek got his two practices ago, Ransom had called out ‘Nursey’, during defensive drills and instinctively Derek had looked over at Will.

Will had looked stricken but Derek didn’t have too much time to dwell on that because he was getting checked by Wicks and sent sprawling onto the ice.

Wicks had felt bad; he thought Derek had known who Ransom was talking to. Derek laughed it off and said it was fine, even though part of him wasn’t 100% sure about it.

He likes Samwell so far, the campus is nice and the classes seem relatively chill at the moment. His Art Fundamentals teacher Professor Woodburn seems a bit out there for him but he’s sure he’ll get used to her eventually. The first day of classes she told them all that they were all weird little caterpillars that she was going to watch become beautiful butterflies, but some of them might stay in their cacoons if they weren’t careful. Derek’s pretty sure the metaphor was supposed to be uplifting but it came across a bit more threatening.

Derek hasn’t seen much of Will, except for when they’re at practice or The Haus. Will somehow always manages to have at least three people in between him and Derek at all times and never speaks to Derek directly unless they’re on the ice running drills. Shitty has questioned him a few more times about it and Derek knows he’s treading on thin ice with every excuse he makes.

He knows they’ll have to talk about it sooner or later, Will can’t ignore him forever. Especially not if they’re going to be on the same team, Dman partners, for the next four years.

Derek sighs to himself, looking down at his sketchpad, Professor Woodburn wants them to submit a few sketches of whatever catches their eye so she can better understand each students skillset. So far Derek has two pages drawings of the rink before practice, one of Chowder talking animatedly about the sharks, and one of the display case at Annie’s.

Which is where he’s currently sitting, Rosie had asked if he’d want to meet up after her shift was over because she’s wants his advice on her essay topic. Derek had arrived a bit early to get some sketching done and because his roommate is driving him up the wall a bit.

Derek met Michael four days before the start of the semester, Michael’s a Computer Science Major so they don’t have much in common but he’s nice enough. The thing is that Michael likes to stay up late to do homework, Derek doesn’t mind that bit it’s the fact that Michael likes to listen to Celine Dion on his computer without headphones.

Derek’s man enough to admit that he likes a bit of Celine, ‘ _My Heart Will Go On_ ’ always makes him teary if he’s had one too many vodka sodas, but when he has to get up early for practice the last thing he needs is to be kept awake by Michael humming brokenly along to ‘ _Because You Loved Me_ ’ for the eighth time in a row.

Derek’s gotten to know Michael’s schedule pretty well, so he knows when to best avoid him. They both have a break between their Tuesday/Thursday classes and more often than not that means Michael’s back in their dorms listening to music or watching something on his computer, without headphones. That’s why he’s slightly thankful Rosie asked him to meet up so he had an excuse not to go back to his dorm.

He absently sketches Michael’s desk set up from memory and occasionally looking out the window at the people passing by. He feels like he should make more of an effort with Michael but he doesn’t really know how. Maybe he’ll ask Rosie for advice later.

Derek thinks back to Will, and how he’s been thrown for a loop ever since he saw Will standing in the middle of the locker room. Will looks good, _really_ good. He’s finally grown into his ears and Derek thinks Janie managed to bully Will into getting a decent haircut. He still can’t believe that Will’s _here_ , that after so long they’re going to the same school again on the same team again.

“Do you want another?” Rosie’s voice to his left startles him.

He looks up at her, she’s smirking at him which means she knows he got startled. “Sure.”

“Great, you sure you don’t want anything to eat? The Lemon Squares are to die for.” Rosie asks as she grabs his empty mug.

Derek mulls it over, he’s been pretty good with his diet and working out.

“Why not, just don’t tell Shitty I caved.”

Rosie smiles even wider. “Shitty caves all the time, don’t worry. Also I’m off in about half an hour.”

“Cool,” Derek nods. “Thanks.”

“I should be the one thanking you, you’re going to save my ass by helping me. I’m awful at picking an essay topic and sticking to it.” Rosie replies, absently brushing a stray curl behind her ear. Derek really needs to ask if it’s okay for him to draw her sometime this semester.

“Let me know if you need anything else.”

“Will do.” Derek replies.

Rosie walks off, ponytail swishing behind her. Derek turns his focus back to his sketchpad. He flips back a few pages to his half finished drawing from a few days ago. Will stares back at him, eyes crinkled in a smile, Derek had gotten a glimpse of Will smiling and laughing with Chowder while they were all having a bonding night at The Haus.

Derek had taken out his sketchbook and sat beside the couch, making sure that he was slightly hidden from view. He had sketched out as much of Will’s face as he could before someone noticed.

Derek picks his pencil back up, closing his eyes to remember how Will’s smile was crooked and how his throat looked when he threw his head back laughing. Derek opens his eyes, and draws.

 ••••••••• 

Will stretches, muscles sore in the way they always are after a few weeks of practice. He’s glad to be back on the ice and skating even if his body is protesting waking up so early. He’s been good about not waking Luca up but there are a few occasions where he trips over something or accidentally forgets to turn down the volume on his alarm.

Luca’s great about it though, just mumbling a question and then falling straight back to sleep. Will’s thankful that Luca’s such a good roommate, he was nervous about having to room with a stranger. The only bothersome thing that sometimes Luca does is stare at what Will’s picked out to wear for the day and go ‘That’s what you’re going with?’ but doesn’t further elaborate. It reminds him a lot of Janie.

Speaking of Janie, Will checks his phone to see if he replied to his text about Parents Weekend. He knows it’s a long stretch but he’d like it if she might be able to make the trip with the rest of the Poindexter Clan. She hasn’t replied yet though so he shoves his phone back in his jeans pocket.

He leans back against the bench he’s sitting on and watches the few people milling about. He’s waiting for Luca to get out of his First-Year Philosophy Seminar before they head over to their Computer Science Fundamentals class.

“Will! Hey!”

Will looks up to see Luca waving, walking quickly towards him, backpack bouncing against his hip.

“Hey, how was class?” Will stands and walks over to meet him halfway.

“It was okay, there’s a few people I wish had dropped the class because they don’t seem to be taking it seriously at all.” Luca sighs.

“I hate people like that.” Will replies, adjusting his backpack as they head towards the Science buildings.

“Same, but they’ll get a wake up call soon enough, the Prof definitely doesn’t seem like the type to deal with people who aren’t going to try at all.” Luca states then changes the topic. “Did you finish the readings?”

Will nods. “Yeah, Lenore and I went over them in the library on Tuesday during our break.”

“It took me three reads to understand what anything meant.” Luca sighs.

Will laughs. “Yeah Lenore almost tore her hair out at the last chapter because she just couldn’t understand it.”

Luca snorts and tucks a strand of hair behind his ear. He’s wearing it down today, when Will had complimented him this morning Luca blushed for five minutes straight.

“Lenore says there’s an event on Friday down at Founder’s about Women in STEM and she wants us to go. Apparently there’s a few companies coming down from Boston to talk about job opportunities and internships.” Luca says, grabbing the door to the Computer Labs and practically throwing it open. Will has half a mind to suggest Luca try out for baseball with an arm like that.

Will met Lenore in his Intro Calculus and Analytics class, she had sat down next to him but they hadn’t talked for the first few classes. It wasn’t until their fourth class, when Professor Radwell was discussing the fundamentals about calculus and some keener in the front row kept interrupting to make off topic points. Lenore had muttered ‘shut up’ under her breath every time the guy would open his mouth.

Will leaned over and mumbled ‘do you think he just likes the sound of his own voice and that’s why he talks so much?’ Lenore nearly choked as she tried to muffle her laugh. When Will introduced Lenore and Luca they took to each other like ducks to water and the three of them realised they were all in the same Computer Programming’s class.

Will’s glad to have found a group of friends so quickly, sure he’s bonding with some of the guys on the team. Chowder is so easy to get along with and Bitty gives him food whenever he manages to fix something up around The Haus, but he’s glad to have some friends outside of the team, that way if he needs to complain he won’t feel bad because he’s not putting anyone in an awkward position.

“You know, when came to Samwell I thought I’d get away from bossy women.” Will jokes.

Luca smiles up at him. “Don’t let Lenore hear you say that or she’ll have your head.”

“Hear you say what?” Lenore pops up, out of nowhere, startling them both. Her green eyes flick between the two boys.

“Nothing, nothing. Come on we don’t want to be late.” Will says, hurrying them towards the labs.

Lenore raises a perfectly groomed eyebrow but allows him to hustle her and Luca down the hall. Will knows he’ll hear about this later, thanks to Janie though he has practice in talking down an annoyed woman.

“How’s hockey going?” Lenore asks later during their study session.

Will shrugs. “It’s fine.”

Lenore and Luca share a look that Will ignores. He’s mentioned Derek a bit but hasn’t gone into any real detail. He can tell that they’re both itching for him to just spill everything.

“When do you start having games, we want to come.” Luca says.

“First game isn’t until the 2nd of October. So a few weeks out.”

“Well we’ll be there, with signs and everything.” Lenore beams.

“Oh please, no signs.” Will groans, “You’ll be worse than my mom.”

Lenore snorts and then her smile turns into a smirk and Will knows what she’s going to ask. Thankfully she’s cut off by someone calling out to them. All three turn to look at the person heading across the room towards them.

“Hi! Sorry I’m late, I didn’t see the time.” Michael nearly knocks over a chair in his haste to get to their table.

Lenore rolls her eyes fondly. “Michael, you’re using your outside voice.”

“Sorry.” Michael grimaces, voice quieter this time, and pulls out the chair next to Will.

“It’s okay,” Will replies, knocking his shoulder against Michael’s. “You’re only a few minutes late.”

“Are your hearing aids acting up again?” Luca asks, arm outstretched towards him in a silent question.

Michael nods, pulling out his hearing aids from his pocket. “The volumes gone wonky on the left one. I put in a request for a new pair but they won’t be here for at least two weeks.”

“What about the right one?” Luca asks as he studies them.

“It’s okay, I’ve been needing a new pair for awhile.” Michael shrugs.

“When your new pair comes in do you mind if mess around with them to see if I can fix them?” Luca asks.

“Sure, but I they’re pretty old I don’t really think they can be fixed.”

“I still don’t understand why you didn’t go through the tech field when you’re really good at it.” Lenore muses.

“There’s still time to change, I’m just exploring my options.”

Will snorts loudly. Michael nudges him and motions to Will’s textbook.

“Did you understand the readings?”

Will shrugs. “A bit yeah, you want to go over them?”

Michael nods. “Please.”

Will turns towards him, making sure Michael can see his lips so that he knows when Will’s talking. Michael doesn’t know it yet but he, Luca, and Lenore have been looking at sign language classes so that they can make communicating easier for Michael if his hearing aids go wonky again.

They spend the next hour going over the readings and worksheets they got in class

“Okay, I’m calling it. I need caffeine and a break before I go crazy.” Lenore collapses forwards onto her books.

“I’m in on that. I’ve read the same paragraph at least five times.” Will sighs, shutting his textbook.

Luca reaches over to play with a few strands of Lenore’s light brown hair. “If you ever get a date can I braid your hair for it?”

Lenore’s voice is muffled against the textbooks, Will sees Luca poke her in the side causing her head to shoot up. She glares tiredly at him.

“Sure,” Luca cheers quietly at her answer. “I probably won’t be getting a date anytime soon so don’t hold out hoping.”

Luca smiles. “You’ll get a date Lee, any girl would be lucky to have a catch like you.”

“Yeah, you’re smart _and_ pretty! You’re basically like Elle Woods.” Michael chimes in.

Three sets of eyes turn towards Michael, curious. Michael doesn’t seem fazed by it, merely shrugs. “My sister was really into the Legally Blonde movies when we were young, it was one of the few movies I could stand to watch with the subtitles on.”

There’s a beat of silence before they all start laughing. Lenore’s the first one to manage to, slightly, pull herself together. “Michael, Michael that’s amazing. Remind me to hug your sister if I ever meet her.”

Michael smiles a bit shyly. “I will, but warn her first she’s not big on the whole ‘physical affection’ thing.”

Lenore nods and can’t help but let a few more giggles escape. Will sits back, stomach hurting from laughing so hard. Even though Samwell has brought Derek back into his life, which is something he’s still adjusting too, it’s also brought Luca, Lenore, and Michael into his life.

No matter how things go with Derek, no matter how many painful memories being around Derek will bring back, it will be worth it. These people, these friendships are worth it. Will can honestly say he hasn’t been this happy in _years_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to comment, kudos, and bookmark! Thank you for reading!


	9. Chapter Nine - Then

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all, soo sorry for the delay I got a new job so there was some adjustment with time and then Word also apparently didn't save my updates so I had to rewrite everything :/ I promise updates will come with more regularity!

Derek sat kicking his heels against the bench. He was currently waiting near the playground, Mama and Mom were at one of the coffee carts and they had promised to bring him a hot chocolate.

He looked over at the park and tried to decide what he and William would play on first. There aren’t too many other kids since it’s early and it’s a bit chilly. William usually likes to play on the jungle gym and then go to the swings, if there are any, and then they tend to play whatever games they make up that day.

“Mi Amor,” Mama sat down next to him. “What are you thinking so deeply about?”

Derek looked up at Mama, thanking her when she handed him his hot chocolate. “What William and I are going to play when they get here.”

Mama smiled and reached out to smooth a stray curl back.

“You know that is up to the two of you, right? You can’t just decide it all.”

Derek huffs, rolling his eyes. “I know Mama, we both pick. We always do.”

“Good.”

Mom walked over to them, two to-go cups and a brown paper bag clasped in her hands. She hands off one the cups to Mama and passes the bag to Derek and takes a seat beside Mama.

“One of those muffins is for William when they get here, which should be soon. Claudia just called to let me know they were about ten minutes away.”

Mama nodded, leaning over to give her a quick kiss.

Derek debated eating his muffin then or wait for William. He decided to wait, that way they could eat and Derek could hear what William wanted to play. Derek sipped his hot chocolate and listened to Mama and Mom talk about adult stuff, he ended up zoning out for a little bit, which is how he missed William and Mrs Poindexter coming up to them.

“Hi Derek!” William beamed.

Derek looked up and smiled. “Hi!”

“Morning Claudia, how was the train? We were worried it might take you longer because there seemed to be some issues with the tracks.” Mama asked.

“Oh it was fine, we managed to miss them, didn’t we sweetheart?”

William nodded and looked back at Derek. The tops of his cheeks and nose were pink from the slight chill in the air. It looked like he was blushing, Derek thought it made him look cute.

“Do you want a muffin?” Derek asked, shoving the bag towards him.

William looked up at his Mom who smiled and nodded.

“Thanks Derek.”

He took the bag and took out a muffin handing it back to Derek. Derek carefully set his hot chocolate beside him on the railing of the bench before scooting over more so William could sit beside him. He took out his own muffin and turned to William.

“What do you want to play on first?”

William looked over at him, muffin crumbs around his muffin. He tilted his head as he thought. Derek munched on his own muffin, not rushing William to pick anything.

“Wanna play slides first?”

“Yeah!” Derek smiled.

“Okay, Mom we’re going to play slides.” William turned to his Mom.

“How about you two finish eating first.” She reached out to wipe the crumbs off William’s face. “Then you two can go play.”

William huffed but didn’t argue. Derek bumped his shoulder against William’s.

“Do you want some hot chocolate?” Derek held up his cup.

“It’s yours.” William mumbled.

“Yeah but you can have some.” Derek smiled, pushing the cup towards William.

“Thanks.” William smiled as he took a sip. “Did you finish your art project?”

Derek nodded, swallowing the large bite of his muffin. “Yeah, I did I drew Mama. What did you do?”

“I did a collage of plants that turned into a bigger flower.”

“Cool.” Derek smiled. “I bet you’ll get a good mark!”

“Thanks, but probably not as good as you, you draw real good.” William said earnestly.

Derek looked down at his lap, fiddling slightly. “Thanks.”

“Welcome.” William smiled and handed Derek his hot chocolate back.

Derek took a sip and then put it back on the arm of the bench. “Are you ready to play?”

William nodded, whipping the crumbs off from his face and lap and jumped off the bench. “Race you to the slides!"

William didn’t bother waiting for him he just took off towards the slides. Derek laughed, dropping the empty muffin bag onto the bench and running after him.

 •••••••••

William loved playing at the park, especially with Derek because Derek always went with whatever game William made up for them to play. It was getting colder out so they wouldn’t be able to play outside as much, not that the weather has ever stopped them before.

Derek and William were currently laying on one part of the jungle gym catching their breath from the game of tag they just finished playing.

“What do you want to play next?” Derek asked.

William was about to reply when Mom called out to them.

“Boys, come on, time to go.”

William pouted and called back, “But we’re not done.”

“Sweetheart, it’s time to go.” Mom replied.

William huffed, turning to Derek who also looked sad. They hopped down from the jungle gym and headed towards their moms.

“Did you two boys have fun?” Mama Nurse asked.

They both nodded. Mama Nurse smiled and exchanged a look with Mom. “That’s good, now we were thinking, you two must have worked up an appetite from all that running around. How about we all go for a bite to eat?”

“Really?” William looked over at Mom.

“Yes really, what do you say?”

“Yes!” William and Derek yelled at the same time.

Their moms laughed and ushered them away from the park and towards the pathway. Mama Nurse said they were going to Kerbs Boathouse since it was closest. William had only been there once but he remembered they had some really good chocolate milk. He wondered is Mom would let him get some chocolate milk.

“The boathouse is my favourite.” Derek said as they walk in front of their moms. “They have the best chicken nuggets.”

“Ooh.” William said. “I like chicken nuggets, do they have crinkle fries because those are the _best_.”

“I don’t know I get sweet potato fries.”

“Are those good?”

“Yeah they’re great!” Derek replied. “You can try some of mine when I get them.”

“Okay!” William smiled.

They played tag a bit on the way to the boathouse, Derek having started it as payback for William cheating at racing to the slides.

“William, careful!” Mom called out.

“Sorry.” William said to the lady he almost ran into.

“Derek, stop, we’re almost there.”

“Can we get a seat by the window?” Derek asked once their moms got closer.

“We’ll have to see.” Mama Nurse replied.

“Okay, well can I show William the deck?”

“It might not be open, but you can see.”

Derek nodded and grabbed William’s hand to tug him along. William hadn’t gone to this part of the boathouse. “Wow, this place is nice.”

“Yeah, Mama likes it here we usually come here on Sundays for brunch.”

“What’s brunch?”

Derek turned to William and looked surprised. “You’ve never had brunch?”

William shook his head.

“Brunch is the best, it’s breakfast _and_ lunch at the same time so you can have chicken nuggets and pancakes.” Derek explained.

“Whoa.” William whispered.

Derek nodded. “It’s amazing.”

William would have to ask Mom if they could have brunch one day. Derek let him have a moment of awestruck wonder before tugging on his hand again.

“Come on, lets go see if the deck is open. Sometimes there’s swans there and if you’re nice they’ll let you feed them.”

William followed him easily; he found more often than not he was following Derek around. He didn’t mind though because he knew anywhere Derek was showing him would lead to an adventure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to comment, kudos, bookmark! <3


	10. Chapter Ten - Now

Derek’s reading over the notes Rosie’s made about her possible essay topics. He’s already crossed out three because they’re too broad. Her notes are good but they’re a bit scattered. Derek doesn’t look up when he asks,

“What did you think of the book?”

“It was actually quite interesting. I was nervous since most books about women from the Nineteenth Century usually portray them as weak or incapable of making any decisions for themselves.”

“That’s good. It’s important to not actually hate what you’re writing about. I think it helps that the book was written by a woman too.” Derek replies.

He’s not surprised she liked it. Professor Hart had said _The Awakening_ is a novel he always keeps in his curriculum because he thinks it’s one that every English student should read and write about.

“I’m hoping the rest of the semesters reading will be as interesting.”

Derek nods; crossing out one more topic, leaving Rosie with two that might actually have potential. He passes her notes back to her.

“Wow, you weren’t taking any prisoners.” Rosie snorts as she looks over what he’s done.

Derek shrugs leaning back. “You have good ideas but you have to narrow them down a bit, you can’t just talk about gender roles as a whole.”

“Yeah,” Rosie sighs. “I was kind of just trying to think of anything at that point.”

“Which is fine,” Derek reassures.

Rosie nods. “What’s your essay topic?”

“I’m doing a comparison of struggling with faith to Edna struggling with her duties of being a mother and wife.” Derek passes his notebook over so Rosie can see his rough outline.

“That seems a bit broad though?” Rosie mumbles as she looks over the page.

“That’s just the over arcing theme. It will mostly be a comparison of how those who have a crisis of faith handle it and how Edna handled her own crisis and how it doesn’t always end positively.”

Rosie nods. They sit in silence for a few moments, Rosie’s nose crinkling as she thinks. “Okay,” She starts. “What about if I did it on the topic of how gender roles haven’t changed much. Yes women today aren’t seen solely to be mothers and wives but more often than not we’re looked at differently if we choose to not go down that path?”

“That’s a good point, you can do a lot with it. What would your main points be?”

“One could be about how Edna looking at Mademoiselle Reisz and seeing what her future could have been and how some women today who got married young and started families regret giving up on their potential careers and dreams.”

Derek nods and smiles. “That’s a good one, I think you should also look at the comparison of Edna and Madame Adele and how it still relates to women today.”

Rosie nods, passing back his notebook and starting to scribble in her own. Derek’s happy Rosie seems to have an idea of what she’s going to write and it seems like a relatively good topic. They chat a bit more, fleshing out ideas for Rosie’s points and even for a few of Derek’s.

Derek’s jotting down some notes when Rosie sighs heavily.

“Can we take a break?” She asks.

Derek laughs, reaching for his coffee. “Sure.”

“Thanks.” Rosie smiles, reaching for her own long forgotten tea. “How are you liking Samwell so far?”

Derek shrugs, leaning back. “It’s chill. I’m liking my classes.”

“That’s good, how’s hockey and everything? Shitty was telling me a bit about the team and the season coming up during our American Women and Political Activism class.”

“Ah cool, I think that was the class Shitty was ranting about during one of our team bonding nights.”

“Oh probably, there’s a few guys in there who had the typical mind-set that taking a women’s course class will automatically get them a date. Most of them dropped it after the first few week but there’s this one guy who makes me want to tear my hair out.” Rosie groans.

Derek smirks at how exasperated she looks. “Yeah, Shitty mentioned a dude who never shuts up.”

“Never shuts up is an understatement. He constantly interrupts discussions and has to always make his point known. Although Shitty tore into him one day it was amazing.”

“Really?” Derek is familiar with Shitty ranting and putting people in their place, especially obnoxious dudes who don’t understand their privilege.

Rosie giggles slightly. “Yes, our class last week was about the suffragette movement and during our open discussion the asshole kept bringing up how men help women get into politics and activism and blah blah blah. Shitty was so fed up he turned around and looked the guy dead in the eye and went ‘Hey fuckhead, you ever think about the fact that the main reason behind women getting into politics is because of men? Because men have constantly shut down and oppressed women hence with the suffragette movement happened in the first place. Why don’t you shut up for a class and actually listen, you might learn something to check that giant ego of yours’ then he turned back around and apologised for his language. The professor didn’t even get mad at him.”

Derek snorts, nearly choking on his coffee. “Oh my god.”

“I know!” Rosie laughs, gleeful. “The guy hasn’t really said much since, I’m surprised he hasn’t dropped the class.”

“Yeah, you would think after getting called out like that you wouldn’t ever want to show your face in that class again.”

Rosie snorts. “Yeah.”

Derek smiles, offering up some stories from his Public Speaking class and people who don’t understand how to keep their voices down in the halls of his dorm. They talk a bit more before getting back to their actual work.

They mainly work in silence, working on their outlines that are due next week. Derek’s pretty good about tuning out background noises when he’s working but the constant ding of the bell at the door to signal a customer is getting to be a bit distracting.

It dings again followed by a quick conversation and Derek can’t help but glance up. He does a double take when he see’s familiar auburn hair. Oh god it’s Will. Derek knows he shouldn’t be surprised to see Will here, no more than he was when he saw him in the locker room, but it’s still jarring to see him when he hasn’t seen him for years.

Derek shifts slightly down in his chair hoping Will won’t notice him. He glances at whom Will’s with to see if it’s anyone from the team. He’s shocked when he sees Michael standing beside him. They’re with another two people, who have their back to him so he can’t tell if he knows them or not.

They’re all at the till, ordering from the bored looking barista. So far none of them have looked his way. Derek focuses back on his notebook. Will has friends, Will is friends with Michael, which means the chances of Derek seeing Will outside of anything hockey related just increased. Derek has to remind himself to breath.

“Derek?” Rosie asks, “Do you think Professor Hart will be grading the outlines or just using them to provide feedback and direction?”

Derek looks up, thankful for the slight distraction. “I don’t know, he didn’t mention it either way, but I’d try to make it as clear and concise as possible just in case he is grading them.”

Rosie nods and goes back to writing. Derek does too, but not before glancing over at Will and his friends. The four of them have moved down to where you pick up your drinks and it looks like two of them already have theirs. Derek sends a silent prayer to whoevers listening that they are taking them to go and that they won’t sit in.

Derek takes a few deep breaths, making sure to keep them quiet so Rosie won’t hear and ask him what’s wrong, and focuses on finishing his outline. He makes a few notes and hears the conversation Will and his friends were having dying down. The bell dings and Derek releases a breath, they’re gone.

“Derek?”

The voice startles him so much he knocks his notebook and pencil off the table.

 ••••••••• 

Lenore had practically marched them out of the library and towards Annie’s once she declared a caffeine break, not that any of them were complaining. Luca was talking about how he was waiting for their fall drinks because he was almost positive they would have amazing Pumpkin Spice Lattes. Somehow devolved into a discussion of what the most Basic White Girl drink at a coffee shop would be.

“I’m telling you a PSL and cake pop from Starbucks is the most basic.” Michael insists.

“I’m pretty sure it’s any of those crazy frappe drinks that get made for the aesthetic and end up tasting horrible.” Lenore says.

Will doesn’t have any input because he hasn’t really seen many Basic White Girl orders. Janie has only ever ordered vanilla lattes when they’ve been out and Molly is too young to have anything other than hot chocolate.

“You two are both wrong.” Luca declares as they head into Annie’s.

“Oh really?” Lenore says, obviously not willing to back down and lose this fight.

“Yep.” Luca says, popping the ‘p’ quite loudly.

Will laughs at the annoyed look Lenore gives Luca.

“The most basic drink a white girl can get is whatever the flavour of the season is. It’s a variable, constantly changing.” Luca replies.

“That doesn’t make sense.” Lenore huffs.

“It kinda does Lenore, I mean what basic white girl isn’t going to get the drink everyone else is getting at that time of year?” Michael pipes in.

“Thank you Michael.” Luca says.

“You two are annoying.” Lenore grumbles.

Luca smiles at her but doesn’t say anything else. There’s no one else in line so they manage to order relatively quickly. Will just gets a plain coffee and raspberry tart because he’s been doing really well with his eating plan and can afford to splurge a bit.

Lenore and Luca both get Hazelnut lattes but Lenore gets a blueberry muffin while Luca gets a sickly sweet looking peace of carrot cake. Michael gets a hot chocolate and a chocolate scone.

“Not a fan of coffee?” Will asks.

Michael shrugs as they move over to the counter. “It gives me a headache, plus I have to be careful with mixing caffeine and my meds.”

Will nods. “Yeah it’s not for everyone, I only really started drinking it because I needed the kick to wake me up for my morning hockey practices during high school.”

“How early did you have to wake up?” Michael asks.

“Depended on the day, sometimes four-thirty or five, practice usually started at six-thirty.”

“Oh geez sounds brutal.” Michael replies.

“Yeah, it was. Which is why I needed coffee.” Will laughs.

Michael smiles, reaching over to grab his hot chocolate and scone from where the barista set them down.

“You guys ready?” Luca asks.

Will and Michael nod, both holding up their drinks and food. They all start to head back to the library for more studying that will most likely result in them talking about how much they dislike the other students in their class.

“Oh hey wait a minute guys, I think I see my roommate. I’m gonna go say hi.” Michael says.

Will turns to see where Michael is pointing and nearly chokes when he sees Derek. Oh shit, shit shit shit. Of _course_ Michael shares a dorm with Derek, of fucking course. Will is pretty convinced that if there’s a God they’re just messing with him at this point.

“Derek.” Michael calls out.

Will watches Derek flinch, obviously unaware of Michael, or any of them. He knocks a few things off the table also startling the person he’s with. She’s pretty, the girl Derek’s with, he could definitely see her being Derek’s type. Even though it looks more like they were studying than on a date or anything. Will mentally curses himself; he doesn’t care who Derek dates. Absolutely no caring, none whatsoever.

“Michael, hey.” Derek replies, sounding a bit awkward as he reaches down to pick up what he dropped.

“Doing some studying?” Michael asks.

“Yeah, Rosie and I are going over essay topics for our English Lit class.” Derek nods to Rosie who smiles.

“Nice to meet you, you must be Derek’s roommate.” Rosie holds out her hand.

“Nice to meet you too.” Michael shakes it and then turns to the rest of them. “We’re just on a study break of our own because Lenore needed caffeine.”

Will glances over at Lenore who seems to be staring solely at Rosie. When Rosie turns her attention to Lenore, Lenore’s cheeks turn slightly pink and she nods, clearing her throat slightly before talking.

“Yes, well not all of us can study for hours on end solely powered by the vocal styling’s of Celine Dion.” Lenore mumbles.

Rosie snorts causing Lenore to blush more. Interesting, Will is definitely going to have to ask her about that later.

“Wait, Will, Derek you two must know each other right? You’re both on the hockey team.” Michael says.

Suddenly Will feels everyone looking at him, well everyone except Derek. He wishes the earth would just open up and eat him so he could avoid this situation.

“Uh, yeah.” Will coughs.

“Yeah,” Derek mumbles.

Awkward silence follows and Will really wishes he could be anywhere but here right now. Luca, bless Luca, breaks the tension.

“Well we should go back to studying. Those formulas aren’t going to learn themselves.”

“Yeah, Luca’s right we should head back.” Will says quickly, obviously a bit too quickly to be considered ‘chill’.

Michael starts to say something but Luca starts ushering him outside. Lenore throws Rosie one last look before grabbing Will and following Luca and Michael.

“Bye.” She calls behind her.

“Bye.” Will says, because he doesn’t want to seem like a total asshole.

They’re almost at the library when Luca stops dragging Michael and turns to Will.

“Okay, you’re explaining what that was all about.”

Will sighs, taking a long sip of his coffee; he’s really not prepared for this. “Can I pass right now?”

“Nope, no way. That whole situation was so awkward I think I’m going to have second hand awkwardness for at least another week, now spill.”

“If I’m going to talk about this I’m gonna need something stronger than coffee.” Will mumbles.

“Well it’s the middle of the day and the bars aren’t open yet but my roommate is gone for the weekend and she left some Baileys so it will have to do for now.” Lenore replies.

Will stares at her. “You’re evil.”

Lenore smiles. “No, I’m just being a good friend. Now lets get you drunk so you can tell us everything.”

“Only if you want to,” Michael says. “I’m sorry I didn’t know, I didn’t mean to put you in that situation.”

Michael looks genuinely upset and Will doesn’t like that one bit. It’s not Michael’s fault that Derek’s an asshole and that all of their interactions from now until they graduate will be fraught with awkwardness.

“It’s fine Michael, it’s not your fault and it’s nothing you did.” Will reassures.

Michael nods, still looking slightly unsure. Will sighs turning back to Lenore.

“I hope you have a lot of Baileys.”

Lenore beams. “Of course, and I think I have some coolers leftover too, it’s not much but it’ll do for now.”

Will rolls his eyes but allows himself to be tugged alongside his friends to Lenore’s dorm room. Maybe it will help to get it all off his chest to people who don’t really know him or Derek, they can probably offer some advice. Either way Will knows he’s definitely not going to be explaining it all while dead sober, so the sooner he can get the alcohol the better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> don't forget to comment, kudos, bookmark!! :)

**Author's Note:**

> I have most of this fic already planned/finished and will try update chapters with regularity. Please comment, kudos, and bookmark if you enjoy it! :)


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